A matchup at Madison Square Garden earlier this season had the New York Knicks in chaos against the Phoenix Suns — owners of one of the NBA’s worst records at the time. That remained the case entering Wednesday’s tilt in Arizona and played almost identically.
The Knicks started this game well, with attacking the paint on a porous defense. All seemed well, but they avoided taking three-point shots. Those are essential in the 2018-19 NBA, and once the Suns started making them, all bets were off.
Shooting, defense and ball control all tanked for New York around the end of the second quarter, when the Suns took over this game.