Knicks at Suns
If the Phoenix Suns plan on staying in the race for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference, then wins over the teams below them in the standings are a must. The Suns will try to take advantage of the worst team in the league when they host the New York Knicks on Sunday. Phoenix is three games behind the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder for the eighth spot and has dropped three of its last four games.
The Suns’ lone win in the last four came against West-worst Minnesota, and the Knicks represent one of only three remaining games against teams with losing records out of the final 15. Offense is the problem of late for Phoenix, which scored an average of 82 points in losses to Cleveland, Golden State and Atlanta in the last eight days, and the team is likely to be without point guard Brandon Knight (ankle) for a third straight game on Sunday. New York is playing the second night of a back-to-back after a 125-94 loss at Golden State on Saturday as it wraps up a five-game road trip.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (13-52): New York looked like it might be showing some fight after a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday but fell completely flat as the competition ramped up against the Warriors on Saturday. The Knicks were outscored 85-46 in the second and third quarter as Golden State rained down 3-pointers against New York’s less-than-stellar perimeter defense. The one benefit to a big blowout on the first night of a back-to-back is that coach Derek Fisher was able to empty his bench early, and no one played more than 28 minutes in the loss.
ABOUT THE SUNS (34-33): Phoenix was up eight heading into the fourth quarter against East-leading Atlanta on Friday before being outscored 31-14 in the final 12 minutes. "I thought we played well for three quarters," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told reporters. "We had that stretch where we had an 11-point lead and it disappeared quickly, then we ran out of gas. All of a sudden we were running in sand and couldn’t get into anything. I’m not sure why they got so tired, but we are going to have to work on that." Forward Markieff Morris posted 22 points, seven rebounds and five steals in the setback and is averaging 23 points in the last two games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Suns have taken the last two in the series, including a 99-90 win at the Knicks on Dec. 20.
2. New York C Andrea Bargnani is averaging 18 points in the last three games.
3. Phoenix C Alex Len (ankle) is not expected to play on Sunday.