Suns lose 5th straight, enter much needed 5-day break

On By Littum

PHOENIX — As much as the Phoenix Suns need some time off physically, the mental aspect of it showed in Wednesday’s 138-122 loss to the New York Knicks.

The five days without games that followed the contest were clearly a breather Phoenix needed, along with time for Bradley Beal (left calf strain) and Kevin Durant (left calf strain) to recover. It was also evident after Monday’s defeat, and it felt undeniable that the thought of a respite on the horizon at least crept into their minds, if not also occupied some real estate in there.

New York (9-6) began the game by jumping out to a 14-3 lead and extended it to 32-16 later in the first quarter, giving up a season-high 44 points to the Suns (9-7). While the Knicks were drilling 3s left and right, Phoenix’s singular commitment from Sunday’s loss was absent for the second straight game. It’s an important reference point for how high Phoenix’s ceiling is still shorthanded, and it was nowhere in sight the last two affairs.

“They came out and made shots and kind of put us in a hole. … That ultimately we could never really recover from that start,” Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer said.

Midway through the second quarter, with the Suns down by 15, the game reached an erratic state of open tempo and poor execution. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was tired enough to take a timeout from a Phoenix miss, and the flow of the game reaching that point spoke to 1) where the Suns were at and 2) how even New York was lulled to sleep by that one bit.

After that moment, the Knicks led by as many as 24 before halftime it was 76-58 Knicks.

Phoenix found a groove in the third quarter and generated 3s to cut it to 11, going 6-for-16 from 3, but the shooting cooled off after starting hot and the Suns’ defense was hopeless all night. They gave up 34 points in the quarter and that signaled that we were done here.

The Suns have lost five straight games without Beal and Durant in the lineup and six of the seven overall that Durant has missed. His re-evaluation period arrives this weekend, while Beal’s status is unknown.

“I think when the schedule comes out, it doesn’t seem like it’s something you would ever ask for, but maybe there’s some kind of silver lining in a five-day break,” Budenholzer said.

Devin Booker was productive under the circumstances, 12-of-23 for 33 points with five assists and one turnover. He still didn’t look quite right physically and this reprieve after 12 games in 21 days will do him a lot of good. When asked after the game if anything was bothering him or if the illness he contracted two weeks ago was still affecting him, he shut that thought down and said he was fantastic.

At least using this gap to reset his pace after ups and downs in his form to start the year will be a plus.

“I think it’s an important time to get the guys healthy and just regroup,” Booker said of the break. “Come in with the same energy we had to start the season and get going again.”

Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson followed up a 50 burger last time in the Valley with 36 points, 10 assists and five turnovers. He kept finding room for 3s off rotations. Can’t happen.

New York center Karl-Anthony Towns’ last game at the Footprint Center was also pretty good, Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs last year, and he used his combination of agility and size to punish Phoenix all night with 34 points and 10 rebounds .

All five Knicks starters were in double figures, including Mikal Bridges, who had 16 points and five assists. His vice mate Cam Payne was also good in this game with 12 points and three assists. The two looked as cozy as possible in their former stomping grounds, a place close to their hearts.

Royce O’Neale (17 points, 5-for-10 from 3) was the only guy playing Booker to have any real success outside of the returning Jusuf Nurkic, who knocked down three 3s with 14 points, 12 rebounds , three assists, three steals and two blocks.

Grayson Allen is shooting 53.3% in his last three games with 16.7 ppg. game, perhaps signaling that he had shifted his form from last season, only for him to go 2-of-9 (1-for-8 from deep) on Wednesday.

Gone is the Suns’ scorching 8-1 start to the season and booster pack start to an ultra-competitive Western Conference. They have dropped to seventh in the loss column, right there with four other teams. As they slipped, the Golden State Warriors (11-3), Oklahoma City Thunder (12-4), Los Angeles Lakers (10-4) and Houston Rockets (11-5) kept chugging along.

Given the emergence of the Lakers, Rockets and Warriors in the top tier of the standings, it will be a bloodbath for the last few guaranteed spots in the top-six, to the point where an eight-day stretch like the Suns just had will likely result in a complete tumble. That’s not something for the Suns to worry about at the moment, but it will be a reality for any team in the West unable to win through the inevitable bits of the season when the injuries pile up.

Phoenix will have to learn how to do that if it wants to avoid play-in.