The New York Knicks came up short again Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, falling 106-99 to the Phoenix Suns. Missed opportunities? Check. Turnovers? Double check. No late-game execution? Triple check.
Devin Booker returned after missing one game for the Suns, but Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart couldn’t say the same. Book dropped 27 points, Brunson and Hart combined for an egg, sitting out the game.
Grayson Allen added 16 points for Phoenix, Mark Williams finished with 14, and the Suns found the best possible dance partner to snap a two-game skid in the New York Knicks. Damn, son.
Brunson and Hart, both sidelined with ankle injuries, were all the Knicks needed to generate at least a tiny bit of offense. Wouldn’t be the case, as Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles McBride each scored 23 points, while OG Anunoby added 21, but you know, good-not-great they say.
The Knickerbockers shot 40 percent from the field, turned the rock over 17 freaking times, and fell to 16-5 at MSG.
NYK started well, hitting three of their first four attempts from beyond the arc and taking a 27-19 lead after one quarter. Phoenix responded in the second with a 12-0 run, because why not, but New York answered behind McBride’s strong outing on both ends of the floor, going into halftime up 56-55.
Momentum went back and forth in the third quarter. The Suns opened the half on a 10-3 run, only for the Knicks to respond with a 16-0 burst that gave them a sweet double-digit cushion. Phoenix closed the quarter strong, however, tying the game at 77 before Booker converted an and-one at the buzzer to give the Suns a three-point edge entering the fourth. Tension.
The final period was sloppy and ultimately, a bummer. Both teams tried hard, Allen appeared to injure his nose in one collision (me enjoys). Phoenix separated itself with an 8-0 run. New York seemed to only know how to miss buckets and second-chance opportunities.
Alas, an 87-87 tie turned into a 95-87 lead for the visiting Hot Spheres and that was that.
Oh, and Towns airballed a wide-open three.
The loss dropped the Knicks to three straight defeats and eight losses in their last 10 games. They next host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. It’s a 5 p.m. tipoff, so let’s flip this thing and say it’s never too soon for a change.
