PHOENIX — With owner James Dolan along for this Western ride, the Knicks failed to deliver him a victory in what is likely the most winnable game of this four-game journey.
The Knicks blew a 10-point halftime lead at Talking Stick Resort Arena with a terrible start to the third quarter, got smacked by Devin Booker’s 38 points while their own top option, Julius Randle, fell back to Earth after having a hot hand for a couple of weeks.
The Knicks’ defense couldn’t clamp down the Suns late in the fourth quarter as Phoenix got a huge boost from Kelly Oubre Jr., who pumped in 29 points on 5 of 7 from 3-point range to end the Knicks’ three-game winning streak 120-112.
“I think we came out less urgent and they came out in the third and imposed their will on us and they got a lot of confidence,’’ said Marcus Morris, who struck for 25 points.
The loss messed up a fairy-tale day for Elfrid Payton, who did not fly with the team to Phoenix but showed up anyway to play without a wink of sleep. His baby girl was born at 9 a.m. this morning after he stayed up all night.
Payton managed to get off to a quick start, finished with 15 points and six assists.
Dolan sat in the fifth row behind the Knicks bench with president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry and saw 26 lead changes.
Devin Booker drives on Elfrid Payton during the Knicks’ 120-112 loss to the Suns on Friday night.AP“We should’ve won this game,’’ Payton said. “For the most part we outplayed them.”
The young Suns exploded on a 10-0 run to start the second half, knotting the score at 61, and it became a see-saw game from there before Phoenix finally pulled away in the final minutes.
“We scored enough points to win this game,’’ Randle said. “We had a slow start to the third quarter and they were confident the rest of the way.’’
“It was fast too,’’ interim coach Mike Miller added. “When you play a good offensive team like Phoenix, you have to take something away and that early part of the third we weren’t taking anything away.’’
In falling to 6-7 under Miller, Randle lost his mojo, shooting 5 of 17 — 0-for-6 from 3 — in scoring 13 points. Rookie RJ Barrett had yet another lousy shooting game (3 of 10, including 1 of 6 from 3, 10 points).
In contrast, Booker was a whirling dervish, making 14 of 27 shots and dishing out seven assists, hitting from deep and slicing into the lane for runners.
“He hit a lot of tough shots — except from some in the first quarter, everything was contested,’’ Payton said.
The trip now heads to Los Angeles, where they face the Clippers on Sunday and the Lakers on Tuesday before finishing out in Utah.
They will need more firepower than just Morris, a former Sun, and Portis, who added 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting.
The Knicks fell to 10-25, and they truly are going to have to get more from their last two lottery picks. Barrett is shooting just 38 percent but remains aggressive. Kevin Knox, off the bench, is fading. He had three points in 12 minutes facing off against the player they bypassed, Mikal Bridges.
The bright note was having Payton sacrifice and join the club.
“We know who he is now,’’ Miller said. “It was important he play. He did a lot of good things out there. It was totally his decision. He wanted to do it. I appreciate he thinks that much of this group to be here with us.’’
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