Suns at Knicks
THE STORY: The New York Knicks seemingly had erased their early-season struggles after ripping off a four-game winning streak, but an ankle injury to star forward Carmelo Anthony has them on shaky footing entering Wednesday night's matchup with the visiting Phoenix Suns. The Knicks will look to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat against the reeling Suns, who come limping into Madison Square Garden on the heels of a five-game losing streak. Anthony returned to the lineup after a one-game absence and scored a team-high 33 points in a home loss to Orlando on Monday, but he also connected on only 9 of 27 shots from the floor. “We’re not making shots right now. It seems like we can’t shoot the ball in the ocean right now. Everybody," Anthony said. “We’ve just got to get out of that shooting slump.” The Suns were lit up by the Chicago Bulls 118-97 on Tuesday night despite the absence of reigning MVP Derrick Rose.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSAZ, MSG
ABOUT THE SUNS (4-9): Phoenix allowed its fourth straight opponent to score over 100 points Tuesday in the second of a rugged five-game road trip that features visits to San Antonio, Chicago, New York, Boston and Dallas. The Suns will be looking to avoid their first six-game skid since March 3-12, 2009. C Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 15 rebounds Tuesday, giving him a career-best five consecutive double-doubles and matching a career high with five straight games with double-digit boards.
ABOUT THE KNICKS: (6-7): New York was determined not to let Magic center Dwight Howard beat them Monday, so Orlando buried the Knicks with 17 3-pointers, matching the most ever allowed by the team. Ex-Phoenix forward Amar’e Stoudemire was a non-factor for most of the game due to foul trouble. Although he briefly came alive and scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, Stoudemire is averaging just 10.0 points and 3.4 rebounds during the three-game skid.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Anthony and Knicks C Tyson Chandler were named as finalists for the USA Olympic roster on Monday.
2. Phoenix has won 11 of the last 15 meetings with the Knicks. The teams split two games last season.
3. Second-half comebacks are not part of the Suns’ game plan. They are 4-0 when leading at the half and 0-9 when trailing.