SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Collin Sexton scored a season-high 26 points, Lauri Markannen punctuated his return to the court with 23 points and the Utah Jazz beat the New York Knicks 117-113 yesterday.
Sexton said he felt more pressure to lead the team after Keyonte George left the court just four minutes into the game because of a sprained ankle.
After missing eight games because of a strained left hamstring, Markkanen scored both inside and on the perimeter and was only slowed by a minutes restriction. In 25 minutes, he went seven for 13 from the field, had four 3s and eight rebounds.
Talen Horton-Tucker scored 13 of his 15 points for Utah in the fourth quarter, mostly coming in a 16-0 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters.
Julius Randle had 32 points and 12 rebounds for New York, but only scored on two free throws in the fourth quarter. He topped 30 points for the third time in the last four games but was forced to be a passer down the stretch.
Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and Donte Divincenzo added 20 for the Knicks. They have lost three in a row on the road and face four more road games on this trip. The Jazz led 106-89 before the Knicks made a furious comeback to close to 115-112. Josh Hart and Brunson both missed 3s to tie it.
Kelly Olynyk got the second rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to wrap it up.
In his first start of the season, Sexton had seven assists, while Olynyk had nine points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as Utah stopped a skid of three lopsided losses in a row.
