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Knicks get rare 94-93 home win over Jazz
Jamal Crawford scored 11 of his 24 points in the final five minutes, including a rare four-point play and a sweet crossover move that led to a key basket in the New York Knicks' 94-93 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
Marbury had 19 points and 12 assists, Michael Sweetney scored 13 and Kurt Thomas grabbed 14 of the Knicks' 29 rebounds as New York won at home over the Jazz for the first time in more than eight years.
Matt Harpring scored 21, Bell added 20 and Carlos Boozer 19 for the Jazz, who dropped their seventh consecutive road game.
Crawford led the Knicks in scoring for the 11th time this season and the fourth time in the past five games. He seemingly solidified his starting spot at shooting guard despite the recent return of Allan Houston, who coach Lenny Wilkens has said will eventually reclaim a spot in the starting five.
Again showing a knack for hitting clutch shots, Crawford made a 3-pointer for a 79-79 tie with 4:36 left, then gave the Knicks an 83-81 lead on his four-point play with 3:50 left.
Boozer made a pair of free throws to tie it before Marbury backed in for a three-point play with 2:03 remaining that gave the Knicks the lead for good.
Bell's 3-pointer made it 88-86 before Crawford found himself isolated against Bell on the perimeter. Switching the ball on the dribble from one side to the other, Crawford got Bell to commit one way as he quickly darted to his right for a running 12-footer that restored a four-point lead.
Crawford's two free throws with 16.7 seconds left restored another four-point lead for the Knicks, who won for the fourth time in five games.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan made a major change to his starting lineup, replacing center Mehmet Okur with little-used Aleksandar Radojevic.
"I thought he played pretty well the other night. I thought he deserved a chance," Sloan said of the 7-foot-3 Radojevic, whose defensive presence helped Utah trim a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit against Boston two nights earlier.
Okur, who signed a six-year, $50 million free agent contract with the Jazz over the summer, had 13 points and 14 rebounds in a reserve role.
Marbury scored the final five points of the first half, giving the Knicks a 51-46 lead, but Utah opened the second half with a 10-2 run to go ahead. New York was ahead 65-63 entering the fourth quarter, and no more than four points separated the teams in the final 12 minutes. |
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