Phoenix Suns close out road trip with comeback win over red-hot New York Knicks
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“We’re going to be ready.” – Devin Booker after Sunday’s loss at Brooklyn.
He was certainly ready to close out this brutal five-game road trip out East with a win after consecutive losses.
The two-time All-Star scored 33 points before 1,981 fans inside Madison Square Garden.
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Booker’s consecutive 30-point performance would’ve been all for naught had his teammates not come through down the stretch of Monday night’s 118-110 win to snap New York’s nine-game winning streak.
“We wanted this one,” Booker said after the game. “We wanted this one bad. Just for ourselves. Obviously, we knew about the streak that they had going and we knew this was going to be a dogfight.”
Going 3-2 on the road trip against five of the top six teams in the Eastern Conference, Phoenix (43-18) responded from consecutive losses to Boston and Brooklyn to top the red-hot Knicks (34-28) in the second of a back-to-back minus Jae Crowder (ankle) and Dario Saric (injury management, ankle).
“We’ve talked about being a resilient group all year long,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “To be able to finish a trip like this against the best in the East and lose a tough one yesterday and be able to bounce back and win a game like this after the start that we had says a lot about the group that we have in the locker room.”
The Suns trailed by 15 points in the first half, but outscored New York, 62-47, in the second half.
“We weren’t trying to lose three in a row,” said Mikal Bridges as Phoenix has only lost three consecutive games once this season back in late January. “We came out on top.”
Booker kept the Suns in it throughout it as he played 41 minutes inside a place that has always inspired him to play at another level.
The Garden.
“It’s obviously one of those that you mark going into the season,” Booker said. “Any chance to be around the aura and the feel of this arena and the history that has been through it, any competitor wants to perform.”
Then he got help from Cam Johnson, Chris Paul and Bridges.
Johnson and Bridges, who had been ice cold the previous two games, scored a combined 25 points in the second half.
“We talked to them during the game, we talked to them at halftime,” Booker said as Bridges and Johnson finished with 21 and 11 points, respectively.
“I think they missed a couple of shots early and then had some open ones and passed up on them and we were telling them at halftime, ‘You’ve got to shoot those. That’s what our offense needs is for you guys to step up and make those type of plays.'”
Then Paul closed out the Knicks in scoring Phoenix’s final seven points capped by a contested 3-pointer over Reggie Bullock with 14.5 seconds left.
“It wasn’t a lot of chess or checkers, it was just Chris making plays,” a laughing Williams said. “A couple of those shots at the end man, you’re just like, I’m glad I get to be on this side of it because when he left New Orleans, I was on the other side of it. Now I’m glad to be with him when he’s taking over with stretches like that.”
After the 3, Paul celebrated with his teammates starting with Booker as he walked back to the bench with the Suns up eight.
“This is a fun team,” said Paul, who was wearing a green “LEGENDS” sweatshirt after the game. “Great group of guys to be around.”
The 16-year veteran and 11-time All-Star finished with 20 points, six assists and five rebounds.
“Chris has a great deal of remorse,” Williams continued. “He tries his best to make up for it the right way. When he turned the ball over late in the fourth quarter he felt bad about that.”
Paul’s turnover led to a Derrick Rose bucket to cut Phoenix’s lead to one, 97-96, with 6:41 left in the game.
“Right after that, he makes the plays that only Chris and a few other guys can make,” Williams continued. “I was proud of him, but also glad for sure he’s on our side.”
The Suns can now look ahead to a monumental two-game homestand starting Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers (43-20) and ending Friday against the West-leading Utah Jazz (44-17).
With Utah losing for a second consecutive time to Minnesota (18-44), this one being in Minneapolis, and New Orleans defeating Los Angeles at home Monday night, Phoenix is now just a game behind the Jazz and a game ahead of the Clippers.
The Suns own the tiebreaker over the Jazz, but the Clippers have the tiebreaker edge on them.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns close out road trip with comeback win over red-hot New York Knicks