That really stunk.
The Knicks’ nine-game win streak wasn’t destined to become 10. But hey, it’s not like they lost to the Timberwolves again or something. They came up short down the stretch to a team that has a real chance to go deep in the playoffs in the West this year.
And they got off to such a good start! The Knicks went up 23-12 in the early going, and everyone was having a good time:
It’s extremely fun to see how the Knicks believe that they can hang with even the best teams in the league now and come out with the killer mentality, rather than how it was earlier this season when it seemed like they almost expected to fall into a hole early in games.
Once Derrick Rose came in, things got even more prosperous, as the Knicks found their biggest lead of the game in the first half, jumping out to a 15-point lead at one point.
Rose absolutely WAS the offense in this game, and he put up a stat line that could make you think you’ve been transported back 10 years: 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists, team highs in all three categories for the night.
The second half proved way less prosperous. The Suns had held serve in the second quarter and kept the deficit to seven points at half, but they sent the game to the fourth quarter tied.
The second half wasn’t without its moments, though. Rose kept playing out of his mind:
Immanuel Quickley made some real nice passes on his way to 11 points and four assists:
And the two of them even hooked up on a most unlikely alley-oop:
The Knicks would fall behind after some timely shot-making from the Suns, though, and this Randle three from RJ was as close as the Knicks would get late:
Chris Paul then engaged his Knicks destruction mode, scoring seven straight down the stretch to put the game away. Look it up, I’m not sharing those cursed highlights in here.
The Knicks finish off their home stand on Wednesday against the Bulls before hitting the road for a critical stretch to end the season. Here’s hoping they can close out the home stand on a strong note.
