The gap between the two best point guards wasn’t enough to deter the Knicks from the hapless Jazz.

All-Star Jalen Brunson and sixth man Miles McBride were off the roster due to injuries, but the Knicks still earned their ninth straight win and picked up 2025 where they left off in December with a 119-103 win at the Garden .

Veteran reserve Cam Payne made his first start of the season for the Knicks, while Brunson missed his first game with right calf strain. McBride was also a late injury with a hamstring injury sustained during pregame warmups.

Josh Hart posted his second straight triple-double and fourth of the season with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, helping the Knicks improve to 24-10 overall.

“We have great depth. “We have guys who can shoot the ball,” Hart said after the game. “It just shows the difference between last year and this year.

“Last year when Brunson was out, I’m not sure how that would have gone. … But without him we still have the depth of KAT, ‘Kal, OG and those guys are very good at shooting the ball.”

In fact, Karl-Anthony Towns had another monster game with 31 points and a team-leading 21 rebounds, Mikal Bridges scored 27 points and OG Anunony added 22 points with three steals – and a primary shutdown on All-Star Lauri Markkanen (6 of 22). ).

And Payne finished with eight points, nine assists and three steals in a season-high 35 minutes for the Knicks, who face a tougher test against the West-leading Thunder on Friday night in Oklahoma City.

Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton each scored 25 points for the Jazz, who have lost five straight and fall to 7-25.

“Everyone just stays ready. I feel like we have a pretty good bench and everyone is always working on their game. And when the time comes, everyone will be ready,” Payne said. “One thing about me is that I’m always ready. I think this helps me.

“So if something like that happens, I’ll leave. It was a shock, but I was ready to go. I’m just happy we got the win.”

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The Knicks gave Utah a 10-point lead early, but Anunoby secured a steal from Jordan Clarkson and strolled in with a two-handed slam to turn the game around. He then went for another inside shot before Payne’s steal led to a Bridges layup in transition, leaving the Knicks down just 25-24 through a quarter.

Payne recorded three of the Knicks’ seven shots in the first half, another example of the dramatic improvement in the team’s defense that led to a 12-2 victory in December.

“I’m definitely the guy that says, ‘Defense wins games, defense wins championships.’ I felt like we did that tonight,” Payne said. “We had to do that. … With (two) guys out, we have to find a way to win games, and tonight I feel like it was on defense.”

A left-handed dunk and another layup by Precious Achiuwa to open the second period – the latter after a rejection of Clarkson by Bridges – gave the Knicks a three-point lead.

Another three-pointer from Payne and two more from Towns helped extend the lead to 13 with under three minutes left, and the Knicks went into halftime with a 56-46 lead.

A put-back slam by Markkanen and a Sexton steal-and-layup cut Utah’s deficit to five midway through the third period, but Anunoby finished at the rim several times and sank a crucial three-pointer, giving the Knicks 12 minutes into the final with a lead of 87-79.

The Knicks then opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 spurt, including five points from Hart, to secure his second straight triple-double and double their lead to 16.

“It’s just a good, hard-fought victory. Just find a way to win. That’s what the season is about: The next guy comes in and gets the job done,” Tom Thibodeau said. “That’s why it’s a team and that’s why you work together. Everyone has to prioritize the team and make sacrifices.

“As the season progresses, be it an injury, an illness or a foul, you need everyone, and then you are called upon to be ready.”