Chris Paul scored seven points in a 70-second span late in the fourth quarter Monday night to ice a comeback win for the visiting Phoenix Suns, 118-110 over the New York Knicks.
The Suns trailed by 15 points twice in the first half and didn’t take their first lead until late in the third against the Knicks, who had their nine-game winning streak — their longest since 2013 — snapped.
Devin Booker scored a game-high 33 points for the Suns (43-18), who are poised for their first playoff appearance since 2010. Phoenix entered Monday two games behind the first-place Utah Jazz in the West.
Mikal Bridges had 21 points while Paul scored 20 points for the Suns. Cameron Johnson drained three 3-pointers in the fourth and finished with 11 points. Cameron Payne also added 11 points.
Derrick Rose scored 22 points off the bench for the Knicks (34-28), who held on to fourth place in the East by virtue of the Atlanta Hawks’ loss to the Detroit Pistons. Julius Randle had 18 points and Reggie Bullock and RJ Barrett added 17 apiece for New York, which received 11 points from Immanuel Quickley.
The Knicks raced out to an 18-5 lead in the first and led by as many as 15 at 30-15. They opened another 15-point lead by scoring the first eight points of the second quarter and led 63-56 at the half.
The teams traded runs throughout the third quarter before a three-point play by Bridges gave the Suns their first lead at 84-83 with 1:31 left.
Rose scored the first four points of the fourth to put the Knicks up 91-87 before Johnson and Jevon Carter hit 3-pointers in an 8-3 run that ended with Frank Kaminsky hitting a pair of free throws to give Phoenix the lead for good with 8:35 left.
A 3-pointer by Randle pulled the Knicks within 113-110 with 1:09 left, but Paul iced the game by sandwiching his final five points — a contested circus shot as the shot clock expired and a 24-foot 3-pointer — around a turnover by Bullock.
–Field Level Media