The Knicks went down to the wire with the Phoenix Suns on Friday night but lost, 112-107.
Here are the takeaways…
— Back in the starting lineup for the second straight game, Miles McBride got things started for New York with a three-pointer to kick things off and then got the assist on Jalen Brunson‘s first bucket of the night, another three-ball that gave the Knicks a 6-2 lead. Dillon Brooks responded right away with one from way downtown, though, which started a 10-0 run by the Suns that gave them a six-point edge. Brooks hit two more threes in the quarter and led all scorers with 11 points after 12 minutes.
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— Besides McBride and Brunson, New York didn’t get much help offensively with OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Mitchell Robinson only combining for six points in the first quarter as the Knicks were outscored 28-23 entering the second.
— The offense opened up for New York in the second quarter with help from the bench, especially Jordan Clarkson, who scored seven straight points early in the quarter to tie the game at 32. He had 12 in the quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns scored his first points of the game with a triple midway through the second quarter that gave the Knicks their first lead since early in the first.
— After that, both teams traded baskets with neither team able to get out to more than a three-point lead. In fact, during the first half, there were nine ties and 11 lead changes, with most of that coming during the final six minutes of the second quarter. At the break, the Suns were up 62-60.
— Following a quiet half, Towns took it up a notch out of the break. After making one of two free throws out of the gates, KAT drained a deep three to counter a similarly long three-pointer from Royce O’Neal, although Brooks got the crowd back into it with his fourth three of the game.
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— Nevertheless, it was the Brunson and Towns show for the Knicks in the third quarter, with both players combining for 20 points in the first six minutes and keeping New York in the game. During that stretch, no other Knick got on the board and with nobody helping Brunson and Towns, Phoenix would go on a 14-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night and keeping New York scoreless for five minutes.
— McBride finally broke the spell with just under a minute to play in the quarter by hitting a three and KAT ended the quarter by completing a three-point play to get the Knicks to within eight with one quarter remaining.
— In the fourth, Anunoby’s three with 7:47 left got his team to within four points, but Devin Booker‘s three-point play cancelled that out. A minute later, Anunoby hit another three.
— The final frame was a defensive slog with every basket difficult to come by. Still, New York was able to overcome that 14-0 run earlier in the game by chipping away and tied the game at 101 after Anunoby’s two made free throws with 3:04 left. That would be the closest the Knicks would come, though, from pulling out a win as the Suns ended the game on an 11-6 run and went 6-for-6 on free throws in the final minutes.
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— With a chance to cut his team’s deficit to one after getting fouled on a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left, Anunoby instead missed two of three from the line to keep New York down three. Brooks ended his fantastic night by hitting both free throws at the end to seal the game. He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
— Noticeably absent in crunch time was Brunson, who made just one basket in the fourth quarter, which came with nine minutes left. He also had a crucial turnover late in the game — one of four on the night for the point guard. The Knicks as a team had 17 turnovers compared to eight by Phoenix. Brunson finished with 27 points on 9-for-19 shooting (5-for-10 from deep).
Game MVP: Dillon Brooks
Although Booker led all scorers with 31 points, Brooks had his hand in everything from beginning to end and gave the Knicks fits all night.
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Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks’ West Coast road trip continues with a battle against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at 6 p.m.
