The Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks collide at Madison Square Garden on Monday afternoon.
The Phoenix Suns have been in a major slump as they’ve lost 10 of their last 14 games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting stopped by the Raptors in a 113-104 road loss on Friday. Mikal Bridges led the team with 21 points on six of nine shooting, Chris Paul added 20 points with 12 assists while Torrey Craig chipped in with 13 points. As a team, the Suns shot 49 percent from the field and 14 of 30 from the 3-point line as they held the Raptors to just 20 points in the second quarter to overcome a slow start, but they couldn’t find their offense in the second half to keep pace with the Raptors who poured in 60 points to pull away late. DeAndre Ayton had a night to forget as he scored just four points on two of 10 shooting.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have won nine of their last 14 games overall and they will be feeling much better after stopping a five-game slide with a 108-88 road win over the Rockets on Saturday. Julius Randle led the team with 35 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Immanuel Quickley added 27 points with seven assists while Quentin Grimes chipped in with 19 points. As a team, the Knicks shot just 38 percent from the field and 15 of 51 from the 3-point line as they got off to a sloppy start and allowed the Rockets to pour in 35 points in the first quarter to fall into an early hole, but they clamped down defensively and outscored the Rockets by 81-53 the rest of the way to escape with the much-needed victory. Miles McBride had a rough game as he finished with just five points on one of 10 shooting.
Looking at the betting trends, the Suns are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games following an ATS loss and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record. The Knicks are 4-10-2 ATS in their last 16 home games, 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games against a team with a winning record and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games overall.
Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Suns are 18-7-1 ATS in the last 26 meetings overall and the Suns are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings in New York.
The Suns are shorthanded again as Devin Booker and Cameron Payne are both out, while the Knicks have ruled out RJ Barrett and they have listed Jalen Brunson as questionable. The Suns have really been struggling lately and their confidence took another shot to the gut after falling short to the Raptors on Friday, while the Knicks are coming into this one with plenty of momentum after routing the lowly Rockets in their last outing and I think they should be good enough to beat the Suns if Brunson is able to suit up.
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
