The Phoenix Suns (4-4) head on the road to Madison Square Garden for a Friday evening of NBA action against the New York Knicks (3-4) on Nov. 3.
The Suns have won two games in a row and four of their last five after Wednesday’s (Nov. 1) 122-116 road win against the Washington Wizards. Phoenix trailed by 17 after just one quarter but outscored the Wizards by 18 points in the second half.
Having a three-game winning streak entering Wednesday’s game with the Houston Rockets, New York faltered as they were defeated by the score of 119-97. The Rockets dominated the second and third quarters outscoring the Knicks by the score of 76-47.
Projected starting lineups for Knicks vs. Suns
Suns: PG - Mike James, SG - Devin Booker, SF - T. J. Warren, PF - Marquese Chriss, C - Tyson Chandler
Knicks: PG - Jarrett Jack, SG - Tim Hardaway Jr., SF - Courtney Lee, PF - Kristaps Porzingis, C - Enes Kanter
Team stat leaders
Suns: Scoring - Devin Booker 22.1, Rebounding - Tyson Chandler, Alex Len 8.9, Assists - Devin Booker 4.4
Knicks: Scoring - Kristaps Porzingis 27.9, Rebounding - Enes Kanter - 9.9, Assists - Jarrett Jack 5.6
Injury report
Suns: Out - Eric Bledsoe (sent away by team), Alan Williams (knee), Davon Reed (knee), Brandon Knight (knee)
Knicks: Out - Joakim Noah (suspension), Questionable - Ron Baker (ankle)
What Knicks fans should watch for
The Suns entered the season not expected to be anything close to a playoff contender, but they have performed well since replacing Earl Watson with Jay Triano as head coach and sending Eric Bledsoe away from the team.
After going 0-3 with Watson and Bledsoe, they are 4-1 with Triano manning the ship. They also play at an electric pace as they rank second in the NBA in possessions per game.
Tim Hardaway Jr. has become the secondary scorer that he was expected to be over the last three games. He is shooting 50 percent from the field and 43.3 percent on threes while averaging 23.3 points.
That is a far cry from the 26.5 percent shooting (22.2 percent on three-pointers) and average of 9.8 points in his first four games.
After Michael Beasley had a tough go at it in his 5:33 against Houston, one has to wonder if head coach Jeff Hornacek will take him completely out of the rotation. He shot over 50 percent from the field in each of the last two seasons, but Beasley is off to a 9-23 (39.1 percent) start in six games.
He’s never been known as a strong defender and has turned the ball over seven times in 66 minutes.
History of Suns/Knicks
After 124 regular season meetings, the series is knotted up at 62 between the Knicks and the Suns. The first game between the two teams was played on October 24, 1968.
Phoenix swept the two-game series last season, with both wins coming by just two points each. Eric Bledsoe averaged 27 points and 7.5 assists for Phoenix in the two wins but has been sent away from the team after expressing his displeasure with playing for them. New York won both games in 2015-16, and the Suns did likewise in 2014-15.
