Suns lose 5th straight, head into much-needed 5-day break without games

PHOENIX — For as much as the Phoenix Suns require some time off physically, the mental aspect of that showed in Wednesday’s 138-122 loss to the New York Knicks.

The five days without games that follow the contest were clearly a breather Phoenix needed, along with time for Bradley Beal (left calf strain) and Kevin Durant (left calf strain) to get healthy. That was apparent after Monday’s loss too, and it felt undeniable that the thought of a respite on the horizon at least crept into their heads, if not occupied some real estate in there too.

New York (9-6) began the game jumping out to a 14-3 lead, extending it to 32-16 later in a first quarter the Suns (9-7) gave up a season-high 44 points. While the Knicks were drilling 3s left and right, Phoenix’s outstanding level of engagement from Sunday’s loss was absent for the second straight game. It’s an important reference point for how high Phoenix’s ceiling still is shorthanded and it was nowhere in sight the last two affairs.

“They came out and made shots and kind of put us in a hole. … That ultimately we could never really recover from that start,” Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer said.

In the mid-second quarter with the Suns down 15, the game reached an erratic state of open pace and poor execution. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was fed up enough to take a timeout off a Phoenix miss, and the fixture’s flow reaching that point spoke to 1) where the Suns were at and 2) how even New York was getting lulled to sleep by it a bit.

After that moment, the Knicks led by as many as 24 before halftime was 76-58 Knicks.

Phoenix found a groove in the third quarter generating 3s to cut it to 11, going 6-for-16 from 3, but the shooting cooled down after starting hot and the Suns’ defense was hopeless all night. They gave up 34 points in the quarter and that signaled we were done here.

The Suns have lost five straight games without Beal and Durant in the lineup and six of the seven overall that Durant has missed. His re-evaluation period arrives on the weekend while Beal’s status is unknown.

“I think when the schedule comes out it doesn’t look like it’s something that you’d ever ask for but maybe there’s some kind of silver lining in a five-day break,” Budenholzer said.

Devin Booker was productive through the circumstances, 12-of-23 for 33 points with five assists and one turnover. He still didn’t look quite right physically and this reprieve after 12 games in 21 days will benefit him greatly. When asked after the game if anything is bothering him or if the illness he came down with two weeks ago is still affecting him, he shut that notion down and said he’s great.

At the very least, using this gap to reset his tempo after the ups and downs in his form to begin the year will be a plus.

“I think it’s an important time to get the guys healthy and just regroup,” Booker said of the break. “Come in with the same energy that we had to start the season and get back rolling.”

Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson followed up a 50 burger the last time he was in the Valley with 36 points, 10 assists and five turnovers. He kept finding space for 3s off rotations. Can’t happen.

New York center Karl-Anthony Towns’ last game in Footprint Center was pretty darn good as well, Game 4 of the first round in the playoffs last year, and he used his combination of agility and size to punish Phoenix all evening with 34 points and 10 rebounds.

All five Knicks starters were in double figures, including Mikal Bridges, who had 16 points and five assists. His running mate Cam Payne was also good in this game with 12 points and three assists. Those two looked as cozy as can be in their former stomping grounds, a place close to both of their hearts.

Royce O’Neale (17 points, 5-for-10 from 3) was the only guy playing off Booker to have any real success outside of the returning Jusuf Nurkic, who knocked down three 3s with 14 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

Grayson Allen shot 53.3% in his last three games with 16.7 points per game, perhaps signaling he had relocated his form from last season, only for him to go 2-of-9 (1-for-8 from deep) on Wednesday.

The Suns’ torrid 8-1 opening to the season and booster pack start for an ultra-competitive Western Conference is gone. They have dropped to seventh in the loss column, tied there with four other teams. While they slipped, the Golden State Warriors (11-3), Oklahoma City Thunder (12-4), Los Angeles Lakers (10-4) and Houston Rockets (11-5) kept chugging.

Given the emergence of the Lakers, Rockets and Warriors in the top tier of the standings, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the last few guaranteed spots in the top-six, to the point where an eight-day stretch like the Suns just had will likely result in quite the tumble. It’s nothing for the Suns to be alarmed about at the moment but will be a reality for any team in the West that’s unable to win through the inevitable chunks of the season when injuries pile up.

Phoenix will have to learn how to do that if it wants to avoid the play-in.

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