NEW YORK _ The Knicks couldn't stop Deandre Ayton from abusing the paint. They couldn't stop Devin Booker from getting to his spots, nor could they stop Ricky Rubio from recording just the sixth 25-point, 10-assist game of his career.
When it rains it pours, and for a Knicks team competing for the league's worst record, there are no bright skies. Instead, the Suns brought doom and gloom to Madison Square Garden one possession at a time in their 121-98 victory on Thursday night.
The only thing raining for the Knicks were the boos late in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks simply had no answer, as has been the case in most of their 30 losses this season. Their approximate time of death on Thursday was the 7:46 mark in the fourth quarter, when a defensive breakdown left Booker _ a sharpshooter despite middling percentages from downtown _ wide open for a 3.
He made it, giving him three of his 25 points up to that point and the Suns a 19-point lead. Later in that fourth quarter, Marcus Morris air-balled a step-back 3, leading to a half-court alley-oop from Rubio to Ayton. The shower of boos came down from the seats for good reason: The Suns closed the game with an 18-2 run before the Knicks scored in the final minute.
Julius Randle scored 26 points on 11-of-23 shooting, but the Knicks were outscored by 19 in his minutes on the floor. Marcus Morris scored 17 points but got most of his points at the foul line on a rough 4-of-11 shooting night. Kevin Knox shot 2 of 8, and Frank Ntilikina shot 1 of 7. RJ Barrett was shooting 2 of 8 from the field before leaving the game in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle.
The Knicks' young players have not improved enough year-over-year, except Mitchell Robinson, who had a good game against Phoenix with 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks off the bench. Maybe it's time to put him in the starting lineup.
Meanwhile the Suns were firing on all cylinders. Only one of their five starters shot below 50% from the field. Ayton dominated with 26 points and 21 rebounds, missing only four shots on the night. Booker ultimately finished with a game-high 29 points, and Rubio orchestrated it all with his playmaking.
If only the Knicks had a point guard to organize the offense, score and defend at a high level. Then again, every team seems to have success doing that against the orange and blue.
This is the Knicks' seventh loss in their last eight games, their second to the Suns in the same stretch. Next five: vs. 76ers, at Cleveland, vs. Lakers, vs. Raptors, vs. Nets.
