Booker sends scorching Suns past Knicks for 15th win in a row
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns in action against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden on November 26, 2021 in New York City. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP
Devin Booker’s 3-pointer eight minutes into the game gave Phoenix the lead for good on Friday, and the visiting Suns gradually pulled away from the New York Knicks for a 118-97 victory.
Booker finished with a game-high 32 points for the Suns, who picked up their 15th victory in a row to equal the second-longest winning streak in franchise history.
32 PTS for @DevinBook 🔥
15-straight wins for the @Suns ☀Phoenix stays hot as Devin Booker leads the way! pic.twitter.com/313taeX2Ji
— NBA (@NBA) November 27, 2021
The franchise record of 17 straight was set during the 2006-07 season.
Phoenix will go for a 16th straight win on the second night of a road back-to-back Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Knicks played the Suns on even terms into the eighth minute before Booker’s 3-pointer, his first of four on the night, put Phoenix up 24-21.
The Suns went on to lead by as many as eight later in the quarter, 17 in the second and 24 early in the fourth before getting an opportunity to rest key players for the showdown with the Nets.
Booker shot 14-for-27 en route to his fourth 30-point performance of the season. His season-high of 38 came in the fourth game of the winning streak against the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 6.
All five Suns starters scored in double figures, with Deandre Ayton (14 points, game-high 13 rebounds) and Chris Paul (14 points, game-high 10 assists) logging double-doubles. Jae Crowder chipped in with 11 points and Mikal Bridges 10.
Reserves Cameron Payne (13 points) and Cam Johnson (10) also reached double figures off the bench.
Crowder hit four of his five shots and Ayton seven of his nine, helping the Suns shoot 55.7 percent as a team. Three of Crowder’s hoops were 3-pointers for Phoenix, which made 13 of 28 from beyond the arc.
Kemba Walker had 17 points and Immanuel Quickley 16 for the Knicks, who have alternated losses and wins over their last seven games.
Evan Fournier added 11 points and RJ Barrett 10 for New York, while Mitchell Robinson pulled a team-high eight rebounds to go with seven points.
The Knicks shot just 37.0 percent from the floor.
