Utah Jazz: Win in New York for first time since 2004

NEW YORK — Perhaps mesmerized by the venue, they hadn't won here since February 2004.

They were coming off quite a fiasco, a blown 15-point lead in Saturday's home loss to Sacramento.

And they knew a win Monday night would aid their cause for perhaps landing the No. 1 overall selection in next year's NBA Draft, as they were playing New York and they own the Knicks' 2010 first-round pick.

No wonder Deron Williams, hurting as he was, refused to exit the stage.

He instead stayed to help the Jazz hold on for a 95-93 victory over the 1-7 Knicks and open a four-game Eastern road swing by ending a five-game Madison Square Garden losing streak.

Williams had a season-high 16 assists for 3-4 Utah, which also got a 23-point, 14-rebound double-double from Carlos Boozer, an 18-point, 12-board double-double from Mehmet Okur and 23 points from Andrei Kirilenko that included 5-for-8 3-point shooting over a persistent Knicks' zone defense.

"My back locked up in the second quarter," said Williams, who was so sore he rested on the floor late in the third period.

"I probably wouldn't have played the second half," but (backup) Ronnie Price was out (with a sprained toe sustained in Monday's second quarter)," the Jazz point guard said. "Nothing against (rookie point) Eric Maynor, but we needed this win and I wanted to try to stick it out if I could."

He did, until the very end.

The Knicks whittled a Jazz lead of 21 points early in the third quarter and 14 at the start of the fourth to nothing when Florida State rookie Toney Douglas drove past an obviously ailing Williams and — with no cover help for Williams — scored to make it 93-93 with one minute and 36 seconds remaining.

"Well," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said, "you knew they'd come back in the ballgame, for some reason or another."

Perhaps it's because of recent history, including a squandered 16-point second-half lead one week ago in Dallas.

"I wasn't surprised," Kirilenko said, "because in previous game (against Sacramento) we had same scenario. So I was kind of ready for this."

The difference, though, was that this time Utah had what it took at the end.

The Jazz — who next play Wednesday at Boston — answered with Okur rebounding an errant jumper from Williams, going ahead to stay with 1:16 to go.

"I just put up a shot," said Williams, who scored just five while hitting only 2-of-10, "and luckily he got to it."