Utah Jazz lose tie-breaker for upcoming NBA lottery

SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz suffered their first lost of the postseason Friday.

OK, their second — after losing forward Andrei Kirilenko to a calf muscle re-injury. And actually, it was the New York Knicks that lost on the Jazz's behalf.

To explain: New York on Friday lost a random-drawing tie-breaker with the Los Angeles Clippers to help settle selection order for the June 24 NBA Draft.

The Knicks and Clippers finished tied for the eighth- and ninth-worst records in the just-concluded 2009-10 season.

The Jazz own the Knicks' pick, which means that in the May 18 draft lottery Utah will have only 22 chances out of 1,000 and the Clippers will have 23 chances to move up to one of the top three selection positions.

The Jazz did actually win one tie-breaker Friday — with Atlanta and Denver for the draft's No. 23 overall pick.

But that selection belongs to Minnesota, which got it from Philadelphia, which acquired it from Utah as part of a December 2007 that sent shooting guard Kyle Korver from the 76ers to the Jazz.

Utah does still have its own pick in the draft's second round, No. 55 overall.

e-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com