Knicks trying to keep playoff hopes alive, take on Jazz / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports Credit Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks are trying to create a last-minute path back into playoff contention.

They won a pair of games this week over a pair of fellow fringe contenders and have a pair coming up against teams occupying the final spots for the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

But those games will be less vital -- and the path much murkier -- if the host Knicks can't beat the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.

Both teams were off Saturday after earning home wins Friday. The Knicks earned a 100-97 victory by holding off a frantic rally by the Washington Wizards, and the Jazz cruised past the Los Angeles Clippers, 121-92.

With consecutive wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and Wizards, New York climbed into 11th place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of Washington with 12 games remaining. The Knicks (30-40) entered Saturday five games behind the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets, whom they are slated to play in back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday.

But the victory that kept the Knicks' flickering hopes alive nearly turned into a season-ruining defeat over the final four minutes, when the Wizards outscored New York 16-4. Washington's Kyle Kuzma fueled the run by sinking three consecutive 3-pointers, the last of which pulled the visitors within 98-97.

But Kuzma missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with four seconds left and the Knicks' RJ Barrett secured the outcome when he grabbed the rebound, hit a pair of free throws, and then harassed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope into lofting an off-balance airball from 26 feet just before time expired.

Significantly, New York went 14-for-14 from the line in the fourth quarter.

"It was a good win," said Knicks forward Julius Randle, who finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds. "We just got to finish the games better. But we made our free throws. Obviously, we don't want to put ourselves in that position to finish the game."

A win Sunday would also be key for the Jazz, who entered Saturday in fourth place in the Western Conference and 3 1/2 games ahead of the seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves, who occupy the top spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament.

Utah (44-26) is one game ahead of the fifth-place Dallas Mavericks in the race for home court advantage in the first round. The Mavericks were visiting the Hornets Saturday night.

The Jazz crafted their first winning streak in more than two weeks despite the absence of stars Bojan Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell, each of whom were sidelined Friday night with calf injuries. Utah, which beat the Chicago Bulls 125-110 on Wednesday night, had not won back-to-back games since a three-game winning streak from Feb. 25 through Mar. 2.

Rookie Jared Butler helped fill the void Friday against the Clippers, scoring 21 points with seven assists. He is averaging just 3.8 points and 1.4 assists in 34 games.

"We had a lot of guys that stepped up tonight and were ready to play with a number of guys out," Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said.

--Field Level Media

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