After a four-game road trip in which they went 3-1, the New York Knicks (4-3, 1-1 at home) come back to Madison Square Garden for the first time in 10 days to take on the Utah Jazz (4-3, 3-1 on-road).

Entering Tuesday with wins in both of their last two outings, the Jazz were blown out by the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday by 130-96. Utah fell behind by 21 points after one quarter and shot just 38.8 percent from the field. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers in the game with 31 points, but nobody else on the Jazz finished with more than 12.

The Knicks enter Wednesday’s game as winners of two games in a row and four of their last five.

On Monday, they overcame a 15-point deficit more than halfway through the third quarter to win 113-108 over the Atlanta Hawks. According to Clutch Points, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett became the first pair of Knicks on Wednesday to have at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in the same game since 1977 when Bob McAdoo and Lonnie Shelton accomplished it.

Team injuries

  • Utah: Out - Juwan Morgan (health protocols)
  • New York: Out - Frank Ntilikina (knee), Obi Toppin (calf), Questionable - Alec Burks (ankle), Nerlens Noel (ankle), Probable - Dennis Smith Jr. (quad), Omari Spellman (knee)

Expected starting lineups

  • Utah: PG - Mike Conley, SG - Donovan Mitchell, SF - Royce O’Neale, PF - Bojan Bogdanovic, C - Rudy Gobert
  • New York: PG - Elfrid Payton, SG - RJ Barrett, SF - Reggie Bullock, PF - Julius Randle, C - Mitchell Robinson

Team leaders

  • Utah: Points - Donovan Mitchell 21.7, Rebounds - Rudy Gobert 13.3, Assists - Donovan Mitchell 5.1, Steals - Jordan Clarkson 1.1, Blocks - Rudy Gobert 2.1
  • New York: Points - Julius Randle 22.1, Rebounds - Julius Randle 11.4, Assists - Julius Randle 7.4, Steals - Mitchell Robinson 1.4, Blocks - Mitchell Robinson 1.7

Team rankings

  • Utah: Points per game - 109.7 (19th of 30 teams), Points allowed per game - 110.0 (12th)
  • New York: Points per game - 103.3 (29th), Points allowed per game - 105.1 (tied for sixth)

Things to know

  • The Knicks are over .500 for the first time since they won their season opener in the 2018-19 season. If they win on Wednesday, they will be two games over .500 for the first time since they were 17-15 entering their game on December 25, 2017.
  • Tom Thibodeau’s teams are known for showing effort on the defensive end, something New York has definitely shown early on. He is also known for playing his stars' heavy minutes, which is seen so far this season, with RJ Barrett and Julius Randle ranking first and second respectively in minutes per game.
  • According to ESPN, the Jazz are favored by six points, and the over/under sits at 214.5 as of this writing.
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