Knicks open with 23-0 run against Jazz

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks jumped on the Utah Jazz with a 23-0 lead in their game Friday night, pitching a shutout for half the first quarter.

Karl-Anthony Towns opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and when Jalen Brunson made one midway through the period, the Knicks had scored the first 23 points.

The Jazz missed their first 12 shots before Keyonte George finally got them on the scoreboard when he converted a three-point play with 5:27 remaining in the quarter.

It was 41-13 after one quarter. Utah shot 4 for 23 (17.4 per cent)

The Jazz were playing on the second night of a strange cross-country road trip, consisting solely of a back-to-back set in New York. They rallied to beat Brooklyn on Thursday with a 42-point fourth quarter.

Coach Will Hardy acknowledged that “10 hours on a plane to play two games seems like a lot,” but said that all teams face difficult portions of their schedule.