There was no game at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks thus recovered Jalen Brunson, back after three games away, while the Suns still had to do without Devin Booker and Cam Johnson.
And Phoenix’s lack of offensive imagination in the first half gave New York a quiet evening. Cataclysmic, the Suns only scored 31 points before the break, finding themselves trailing by 32 points (52-20) in the middle of the second quarter…
And since there was no wake-up call after returning from the locker room, Tom Thibodeau savored a second success in a row.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Suns extinguished in the first half. It’s hard to win a game when you score 31 points in the first half. Phoenix never found the target before the break, with bricks and airballs hurting his eyes. But the most worrying thing is the lack of rhythm of Monty Williams’ men.
– Evan Fournier back in the rotation. After weeks in the fridge, the Frenchman has returned to Tom Thibodeau’s rotation in the absence of RJ Barrett. For the third time in a row, he stayed on the field for about fifteen minutes, for 5 points at 2/6 shooting, plus 5 rebounds, and a +/- of +11.
– Phoenix in full tumble. Devin Booker and Cam Johnson still absent, the Suns still got Landry Shamet and Cam Payne. Not enough, however, to revive the team, which remains on 6 defeats in the last 7 outings, and even 11 losses in the last 15 meetings.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ The Knicks’ five major. Difficult to isolate a particular player as it is the collective energy of New York that has stifled Phoenix. Julius Randle released the most beautiful line of stats (28 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists) but the calm of Jalen Brunson (24 points, 6 assists) was also precious, as was the verticality of Mitchell Robinson (10 points, 10 rebounds) to annoy Deandre Ayton.
⛔ The Paul – Shamet – Craig trio. The entire Suns team suffered offensively but the three starters largely weighed down their team. At halftime, they had 0 points at 0/13 in shooting…
THE FOLLOWING
New York (20-18): the Knicks can continue against the Spurs, Wednesday (01:30)
Phoenix (20-18): the Suns continue their “road trip” in Cleveland, Wednesday (1:00 a.m.)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
