For the past eight games, the Utah Jazz have been without their leading scorer, as All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen has been hampered by a strained left hamstring.
While it’s unclear when the Finnish star will return to Utah’s lineup, the New York Knicks just began a stretch of games without one of their top players, too.
The Knicks can only hope they have more success during Mitchell Robinson’s absence than the Jazz have had without Markkanen in the lineup. Wednesday’s game in Salt Lake City between New York and Utah will be the second time the Knicks have played without the NBA’s offensive rebound leader (5.3 per game), who recently suffered a surgery-requiring stress fracture in his left ankle.
Led by Julius Randle’s 34 points, the Knicks defeated the visiting Toronto Raptors 136-130 on Monday in New York. RJ Barrett scored 27 points, Jalen Brunson contributed 21 points and nine assists, and Quentin Grimes added a season-high 19 points for the Robinson-less Knicks.
“He covers up for a lot of our mistakes,” Randle said of Robinson. “But we’ll figure it out.”
New York coach Tom Thibodeau credited his team for rallying together in its first game following the injury, which will sideline the Knicks’ starting center for at least eight weeks.
“Our whole bench unit, I’m very, very pleased with the way they’re playing,” Thibodeau said. “You need everybody. We’ve got to get everyone playing well together to bring the best out of each other and if we do that, we’ll have a good chance to win.”
The Jazz won their first two games without Markkanen, beating New Orleans twice, but they’ve since lost three straight contests and five of their past six.
Utah’s past three games have been particularly rough. Last Wednesday, it was clobbered by Dallas, 147-97, and then lost big to the Los Angeles Clippers, 117-103. On Monday, the Jazz fell behind by 38 points in a 134-120 setback at Oklahoma City.
The Utah defense offered little resistance in the blowout loss to the Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needed only three quarters to score 30 points, and Oklahoma City made 52.1 percent of its shots while dishing out 35 assists. Utah trailed 111-75 after the third quarter before finishing with a too-little-too-late 45-point fourth quarter.
“No one likes to get blasted like that,” Jazz guard Keyonte George said. “I know I didn’t want to.”
George was a highlight for the Jazz. The rookie point guard scored a career-high 30 points. George drained five 3-pointers and hit 10 of 17 shots en route to his highest-scoring game. He also had seven assists.
“Keyonte is getting better and better,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “We’re encouraging him to be more aggressive looking for his own shot. I think (Monday) was a good example of that. He’s got a ton of ability. He can shoot off the dribble, he can get in the paint, he’s a good passer, he’s got a good feel.”
Along with Markkanen, the Jazz also played without John Collins (illness) and Walker Kessler (foot) in Monday’s loss. Immanuel Quickley (knee) didn’t play in the Knicks’ most recent game.
–Field Level Media
