Jazz opponents know all about John Stockton and Karl Malone, who have been tormenting them for almost two decades.
 
They don't expect such treatment from Jarron Collins.
 
A rookie from Stanford who was the 53rd player picked in last summer's draft, Collins was a long shot to make Utah's regular-season roster after struggling during the Rocky Mountain Revue.
 
But Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, he played a huge role in a game the Jazz probably would not have won without him.
 
With his twin brother watching -- Jason Collins' New Jersey Nets played earlier Sunday at the Meadowlands -- Jarron Collins finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in a career-high 35 minutes in Utah's 92-89 victory over the Knicks.
 
Collins' two free throws with three seconds remaining gave the Jazz a three-point lead. Then, he intercepted the Knicks' inbounds pass -- they didn't have any timeouts remaining -- to clinch Utah's win.
 
"Jarron," said Karl Malone, "played his butt off."
 
"He's a guy who doesn't have a hearing problem," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "When you tell him something, it sticks. He doesn't come back two days later and say, 'Now, what do you want me to do?' "
 
Even Jason Collins, a first-round pick in the draft, seemed impressed by his twin's performance: "He did a good job. I was impressed with their team. They did a good job of hanging in there."
 
And what about Jarron's emergence in Utah?
 
"He's playing with a lot of confidence right now," Jason Collins said. "That's very important when you're a young player. He's out there trying to make plays that help his team, and he did a good job of that tonight."