NEW YORK -- In his first game of the season after missing the first six with a fractured finger on his left hand, Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 28 points as the Utah Jazz beat the New York Knicks 114-109 at Madison Square Garden.

Hayward, 26, led the Jazz with 19.7 points and 3.7 assists per game in 2015-16, but had to wait until a Sunday matinee to make his debut this season.

"First off, it felt great just to be out there," Hayward said. "You work all summer to be able to play, and so to have the injury was definitely unfortunate, but it's good to be out there with the guys. It's a little awkward playing with the splint for sure, but it's not going to stop me from getting out there on the court when it's time to play."

Rodney Hood scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, including two three-pointers, as the Jazz outscored the Knicks 36-29 in the final stanza.

George Hill added 23 points and nine assists for Utah, Rudy Gobert scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Derrick Favors scored 13 points and six boards. Joe Johnson added 10 points.

Utah improved to 4-3 on the season, while the Knicks dropped to 2-4.

Hill said it was "great" to have Hayward back on the court.

"It gives us another guy who can demand double-teams and can create, it just gives a whole other dimension," Hill said.

Carmelo Anthony went for 28 points and nine rebounds and Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points and grabbed eight boards for the Knicks one game after he poured in 27 in a victory in Chicago. But the Knicks failed to capitalize on Friday's impressive win in which Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah both played very well in their returns to the Windy City and all five Knicks starters reached double-figures.

Against Utah, Rose scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and added eight assists and four rebounds on the game.

The Knicks led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but they did not maintain control down the stretch.

New York led 80-78 after three quarters, with more than half of its points coming from Anthony (22) and Porzingis (20).

Utah opened the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run, including two three-pointers from Johnson, to go ahead 90-82.

"I didn't think we did a good job of executing the whole game," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We made shots but it wasn't like the other night where we were moving the ball. ... We scored plenty of points but the offense wasn't as flowing as it was the other night."

The Knicks pulled within 100-95 on a three-point play by Rose, but Hayward hit a 17-foot jumper and then a layup to extend Utah's lead to 104-95.

"It sounds crazy, but I wasn't surprised (with Hayward)," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "I've seen him, what he's been doing the last month trying to stay in shape. Every time you turn around, one time it was like a make-believe basketball, working on his follow through. So we knew he was ready to go.

"I wanted to give him the ball early, just to let him get some of the nervousness out, and that's what happened. I don't think his confidence ever wavered. He was definitely anxious to play."

Anthony made two foul shots to cut the deficit to 106-101 with under a minute to go, but Hood got free for an uncontested dunk out of a 20-second timeout to extend the lead to 108-101.

"We just didn't want to lose," Hill said. "We know that feeling in Utah playing San Antonio (on Friday). It wasn't a good feeling and like I told the guys, it's how you bounce back is going to define the way we are. And I think we bounced back pretty fine tonight."

NOTES: After appearing on "Saturday Night Live," Dexter Fowler of the Chicago Cubs attended the game, as did cast member Cecily Strong. ... The Knicks sent G Ron Baker, G Maurice Ndour and C Marshall Plumlee to the Westchester Knicks of the NBA D-League for practice on Saturday but recalled them in time to play in the game. ... Knicks F Lance Thomas came off the bench to score five points and grab two rebounds after missing the Chicago game with a sprained left ankle. ... The Knicks are now 1-2 at home, while the Jazz are 2-1 on the road. ... The Knicks host the rival Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.