Suns at Knicks
The Phoenix Suns look to climb back to .500 when they continue their Eastern road swing against the New York Knicks on Saturday afternoon. The Suns halted a six-game losing skid with a 111-106 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday and hope to stay on the right track by beating the Knicks for the second straight time. "We're just going to keep fighting no matter how bad it gets," Phoenix guard Isaiah Thomas told reporters. "Hopefully, it gives us momentum going into the next game."
New York continued its downward spiral with a 103-97 setback to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. The Knicks have dropped 13 of their last 14 games - including three straight - and to make matters worse they were without Carmelo Anthony, who was inactive due to soreness in his left knee. Anthony has been advised to take a few weeks off to rest but it remains to be seen whether the small forward heeds the advice with New York languishing near the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
TV: 1 pm. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), MSG Network (New York)
ABOUT THE SUNS (13-14): Thomas poured in 23 points - including seven of the final 13 for Phoenix - in the win over the Hornets and has finished with 20 or more points in two straight outings. Goran Dragic scored 20 points and dished out eight assists in his first game back since missing the previous two with a lower back injury. Markieff Morris tallied 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds before he was ejected for arguing with the officials in the third quarter.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (5-23): Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a team-high 23 points and went 5-of-8 from 3-point range in the loss to the Bulls after missing all eight of his attempts against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. Anthony joins Andrea Bargnani (hamstring), Iman Shumpert (shoulder) and J.R. Smith (foot) on the injured list, although coach Derek Fisher is hopeful he will have a few of the walking wounded available Saturday. Cole Aldrich collected a season-high 13 points and 10 rebounds versus Chicago after failing to crack the lineup in his previous three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Knicks have won three of the past four meetings with the Suns.
2. The Suns have won 20 consecutive games when they shoot 50 percent or better from the floor.
3. New York is 1-9 against Western Conference teams.