Game Recap: Knicks swarm Suns, handing them fifth straight loss, 138-122

The losing streak continues for Phoenix.

The New York Knicks were cooking early and often, defeating the Phoenix Suns 138-122.

Shooting 64% from the field in the first half, the Knicks built a commanding 76-58 lead and never looked back. Dominating in the paint, Karl-Anthony Towns was unstoppable with 34 points, helping contribute to the Knicks’ 58 points in the paint.

From downtown, the Knicks cooled off in the second half after hitting their first 8-of-11 three-pointers but still finished with an impressive 49% from beyond the arc. Thanks to Jalen Brunson, who scored 36 points to lead all scorers, the Knicks were able to maintain their momentum. His consistent play made it an impossible feat for the Suns to mount a comeback, despite Devin Booker’s 33-point effort.

Another loss for the Suns extends their losing streak to five games, bringing their record to 1-6 without Kevin Durant.

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Game Recap

First Half

The Suns quickly found themselves in a hole, falling behind 14-3 within the game’s first three minutes. The Knicks came out hot, sinking their first four three-pointers, while the Suns struggled to get anything to drop.

With the pressure mounting on the Suns to turn things around, the Knicks intensified their defensive efforts, applying relentless pressure and disrupting the Suns’ rhythm. They refused to let the Suns gain any traction.

Matching the Knicks’ hot shooting in the first quarter proved impossible. It was a whirlwind of made shots—contested or not—as the Knicks continued to drain threes from behind the arc. Compounding the Suns’ struggles were poor decisions on possession after possession. Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges ensured his return to the Valley left an early mark with his impactful play.

The Knicks never cooled down in the first quarter, hitting eight of their first 11 three-pointers and jumping out to a commanding 44-28 lead heading into the second. Jalen Brunson led the charge with 11 points, while Bridges added nine. Despite Devin Booker leading all scorers with 12 points, the lack of support from his teammates made the prospect of a comeback seem nearly impossible after just 12 minutes of play.

Karl-Anthony Towns got the Knicks rolling at the start of the second quarter, quickly adding four points to their tally. However, the Suns responded with a small run, cutting the Knicks’ lead to 13 points. Josh Okogie provided a spark, setting up Oso Ighodaro for a highlight-reel dunk on a fast break, forcing the Knicks to call a timeout.

Tyus Jones provided some much-needed stability for the Suns toward the end of the second quarter, helping to guide the offense. However, the team struggled with their shooting, as shots kept falling short.

After a scorching start in the first quarter, Devin Booker cooled off in the second, unable to rally the Suns and trim the deficit to single digits. The Knicks’ defense tightened, holding Booker to just six points in the period. By halftime, the Knicks had extended their lead to 76-58, fueled by a blistering 63% shooting from the field and a dominant 36 points in the paint.

Brunson at the half had 26 points to lead all scorers. 9-11 from the field.

Second Half

Yusuf Nurkic faced the daunting challenge of guarding Karl-Anthony Towns during the opening minutes of the second half. Whenever Towns got the ball at the top of the key, he prioritized attacking the rim, either finishing strong or drawing a foul. Much like the first half, Towns proved unstoppable, consistently getting the better of Nurkic as the Suns struggled to contain him.

Suns rookie Ryan Dunn had his hands full trying to contain Brunson, doing his best to slow him down and stop the bleeding for the Suns. Despite the tough assignment, Dunn managed to make an impact offensively, hitting a crucial three-pointer that trimmed the Knicks’ lead to 11 points with 5:51 left in the third quarter.

A 11-2 run by the Knicks quickly restored their commanding lead, effectively stifling any momentum the Suns had started to build. The Knicks seemed unstoppable, continuing their hot shooting and maintaining a field goal percentage above 60% well into the third quarter, with no stretch of the game showing signs of slowing down.

Like Bradley Beal, we could only sit and watch.

The Knicks’ shooting cooled off toward the end of the third, but the Suns still couldn’t put together a run to cut into the lead. Trailing 110-93 heading into the fourth, the Suns once again found themselves facing a large deficit.

There was one final surge from the Suns to get back into the game with about seven minutes left. However, the Knicks slowed the pace down, forcing the Suns to struggle for every point as the game neared its conclusion. Devin Booker, attacking the lane and getting to the free-throw line, converted a three-point play to help trim the lead to 12 points.

But the paint was still wide open for the Kicks, hitting back-to-back buckets to seal the deal, the Knicks were ahead by 16 points with just under six minutes left.

The fans began to exit early and with Towns hitting another three to put the Knicks up 18, it was over with only five minutes left in the game.

Suns lose to the Knicks 138-122.

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Up next, the Suns will host the Los Angeles Lakers next Tuesday. That’s right—just five days until the Suns take the court again. See you then!