New York: New York centre Enes Kanter had 20 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th double of the season and Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points when the Knicks ended a seven-game road trip with a 107-85 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Friday.
Reserve Trey Burke tied a season high in his second straight 18-point game, Tim Hardaway Jr had 15 points and Courtney Lee had 11 for the Knicks (22-28), who never trailed while breaking a three-game losing streak.
TJ Warren had 20 points and reserve Josh Jackson had 18 for the Suns (17-32), who have lost six of seven.
Kanter scored 10 points in the first three minutes, and 3-pointers by Porzingis and Lee helped the Knicks to a quick 22-7 start. The closest the Suns got after that was a short-lived tie in the second period.
Porzingis, who had seven rebounds and three blocked shots, had 13 points in the third quarter when the Knicks stretched their lead 82-67.
Porzingis made three 3-pointers while Lee and Burke had two 3-pointers apiece.
The Knicks shot 48.2 per cent from the floor and limited the Suns to 35.1 per cent.
Suns leading scorer Devin Booker had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists before being ejected with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter after receiving a Flagrant 1 foul for grabbing the back of Hardaway’s jersey on a drive to the basket.
Booker received a technical foul earlier in the quarter for throwing the ball against the basket standard. He started at point guard in place of Tyler Ulis, with Troy Daniels making his first start of the season at off guard.
Daniels had 11 points and made 3 of 8 3-pointers. He had made 32-of-74 3-point attempts in the previous eight games.
The Suns made 11 of 33 3-pointers and have made at least one three in 1,107 consecutive games. They can tie Dallas’ NBA record in their next game, on Sunday at Houston.
Suns forward Marquese Chriss had three points and four rebounds in his first game back after missing six with a hip injury. The Suns gave centre Tyson Chandler a scheduled day off. — Reuters
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