SALT LAKE CITY _ The New York Knicks appeared to be suffering another meltdown, as they let a 10-point lead in the final two minutes dwindle to three.
But the Knicks escaped Utah with a 117-115 victory over the Jazz as speculation about Jeff Hornacek's job security became a topic.
With the Knicks up 115-112, the Jazz had three chances to tie the score with under 30 seconds to go. All three were on the same possession.
Donovan Mitchell missed an off-balance three-pointer, but Utah got the rebound. Joe Johnson missed a corner three-pointer, but Utah got the rebound. Then Joe Ingles short-armed a three-pointer from the opposite corner.
"I thought all three were going to go in when they left their hands," Hornacek said. "We got to come up with those rebounds. We're lucky they missed them."
The Knicks (21-25) finally rebounded and Tim Hardaway Jr. was fouled with 9.3 seconds to go. Hardaway, who shot 6-for-7 from three-point range, had missed two free throws with 32.5 seconds left, but this time he made both. That gave the Knicks a five-point lead, enough to overcome Mitchell's three-pointer with one second left.
"I liked the effort," Hornacek said. "We just have to continue to be smart. We got to continue to be stronger, continue to be aggressive."
Hardaway returned to the starting lineup and had one of his best games of the season, finishing with 31 points and shooting 11-for-17 overall.
Courtney Lee and Kristaps Porzingis each had 18 points. With rookie Frank Ntilikina struggling to have an effect on the game, Hornacek gave newly signed Trey Burke crunch-time minutes, and he responded with seven points and two assists.
Utah center Rudy Gobert returned after missing the past 15 games and had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Rodney Hood had 18 points and Mitchell and Ricky Rubio each scored 17 for Utah (18-27).
The Knicks appeared to be in good shape after Porzingis' three-pointer gave them a 113-103 cushion with 2:12 left. But when Rubio missed the second of two free throws, Joe Johnson rebounded it, was fouled on a three-pointer and made all three attempts. Mitchell then scored on a drive to make it 113-109 with 1:30 to go.
Michael Beasley's jumper put the Knicks up by six, but Gobert's three-point play brought the Jazz within 115-112 with 1:07 to go.
The Knicks got off to a better start than they did Wednesday in Memphis. They led by seven in the first quarter. But the Jazz scored the final 10 points and were up 25-22 after one.
In that stretch, Ntilikina was beaten twice by Raul Neto and committed two turnovers. Hornacek pulled Ntilikina quickly and brought in Burke.
With Burke on the floor, the Knicks regained the lead, 30-29. But it quickly turned into a 10-point deficit after a 19-8 run. The Jazz got anything it wanted, as it scored on six straight trips and nine-of-12 and took a 48-38 lead.
Third quarters have been an issue for the Knicks. But Lee provided a big lift at the start, and Hardaway at the end to send the Knicks into the fourth ahead 85-78.
Lee scored 11 points in the first 5:09 and 13 overall. Hardaway scored 11 overall, with eight coming in the last 54.3 seconds. Hardaway closed the third with a one-man 8-0 run.
The Knicks scored on their first possession of the fourth and went up 87-78. But the lead was gone about 3:30 later after a Donovan Mitchell banked in a three-pointer to make it 91-91.
Later, the Knicks took a 98-93 lead on a Burke three-pointer. He also scored on a drive to the basket to give the Knicks a 102-98 edge with 5:11 to go.
The Knicks' extended to 109-100 after six consecutive points by Hardaway Jr. He completed a four-point play. Then on the next trip, Hardaway drove and dunked.
A report Thursday detailed that Hornacek's future as Knicks coach is uncertain. Hornacek said he isn't worried about his job, and that he' very comfortable with the support he's received from management.
Hornacek said despite the Knicks' fast start to the season, team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry haven't changed their expectations. Playoffs isn't necessarily the goal. Hornacek said management is still viewing this as a rebuilding and developing year.
"Scott and Steve, everybody's still on the same page of trying to get our young guys opportunities," Hornacek said. "We're still trying to win games. We still want to establish an identity where defensively we're going to get after it all the time and we're building toward that. It's great to have their support."
Hornacek said his players' expectations have changed. The Knicks running out to a 17-14 start because of a heavy home schedule had the players constantly talking about the postseason.
The Knicks have come down to earth. Hornacek stressed the importance of winning, but he said it's still about the team growing and developing.
"We said we want to get better and we want to grow," Hornacek said. "Part of our talk was you can't worry about the results. You just got to go out there and if you do your best and try to improve the results will come. When you start thinking about win or lose, all of a sudden your mentality becomes different. We got to get back to that.
"You always want to win. We know it's a process that we kind of got to grow to. Players want to win every game. Coaches want to win every game. Management wants to win every game. But you also have to keep that big picture in mind and always think about, 'Are we making strides or are we just trying to win games and the strides stop? We always have to keep that in mind."
