Game ID: 22500538
New York Knicks @ Phoenix Suns
Friday, January 9, 2026 at 9:00 PM ET
Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
PHX 28 34 32 18 112NYK 23 37 26 21 107
NYK @ PHX ScoutingNYK @ PHX Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
PHX availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 7 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Green missed 23 since 11/10, out tonight
BACK Dunn back 12/31 after 2, 19 min since (103% of 19)
BACK Fleming back 12/23 after 3, 10 min since (87% of 12)
PHX availability going into 1/04 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 8 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Green missed 24 since 11/10, out tonight
BACK Dunn back 12/31 after 2, 19 min since (99% of 19)
PHX availability going into 1/05 · back-to-backOUT Allen missed 9 since 12/18, returns tonight: 22 min (78% of 28)
OUT Green missed 25 since 11/10, out tonight
BACK Dunn back 12/31 after 2, 19 min since (103% of 19)
PHX availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Green missed 26 since 11/10, out tonight
BACK Allen back 1/05 after 9, 22 min since (78% of 28)
BACK Dunn back 12/31 after 2, 19 min since (99% of 19)
PHX availability going into 1/09 · 1 day's restOUT Green missed 27 since 11/10, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Allen back 1/05 after 9, 21 min since (75% of 28)
BACK Dunn back 12/31 after 2, 19 min since (103% of 19)
PHX availability going into 1/11 · 1 day's restOUT Green missed 28 since 11/10, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Allen back 1/05 after 9, 23 min since (81% of 28)
PHX availability going into 1/13 · 1 day's restOUT Green missed 29 since 11/10, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 4 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Allen back 1/05 after 9, 23 min since (81% of 28)
PHX availability going into 1/15 · 1 day's restOUT Green missed 30 since 11/10, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 5 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Allen back 1/05 after 9, 24 min since (84% of 28)
PHX availability going into 1/17 · 1 day's restOUT Green missed 31 since 11/10, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 6 since 1/05, out tonight
NYK availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 3 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 17 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 22 min since (94% of 24)
NEW Clarkson 16 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Kolek 11 to 20 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 1/03 · back-to-backOUT Hart missed 4 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 18 since 11/24, out tonight
OUT Robinson missed 3 since 12/29, returns tonight: 19 min (103% of 18)
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 25 min since (106% of 24)
NEW Kolek 11 to 18 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 5 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 19 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 26 min since (112% of 24)
BACK Robinson back 1/03 after 3, 19 min since (103% of 18)
NYK availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 6 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 20 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/29 after 7, 26 min since (111% of 24)
BACK Robinson back 1/03 after 3, 22 min since (119% of 18)
NYK availability going into 1/09 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 7 since 12/27, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 21 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 1/03 after 3, 23 min since (124% of 18)
NEW McBride 24 to 29 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 1/11 · 1 day's restOUT Hart missed 8 since 12/27, returns tonight: 31 min (101% of 31)
OUT Shamet missed 22 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Robinson back 1/03 after 3, 23 min since (126% of 18)
NEW McBride 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 1/14 · 2 days' restOUT Shamet missed 23 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Hart back 1/11 after 8, 31 min since (101% of 31)
BACK Robinson back 1/03 after 3, 23 min since (128% of 18)
NEW McBride 24 to 33 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 1/15 · back-to-backOUT Shamet missed 24 since 11/24, returns tonight: 16 min (77% of 21)
BACK Hart back 1/11 after 8, 31 min since (102% of 31)
NEW McBride 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Robinson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Kolek 11 to 17 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 1/17 · 1 day's restBACK Hart back 1/11 after 8, 33 min since (108% of 31)
BACK Shamet back 1/15 after 24, 16 min since (77% of 21)
NEW McBride 24 to 34 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 26 and Brooks at 19 a game. Without Green (27 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 121, shooting 44 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Towns at 17 a game. Without Hart (7 straight), Shamet (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 107 a night to New York's 121 and the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-2 a night and New York minus-3. Call it Phoenix 117, New York 112.
1/02 vs SAC 129-102 — PHX notes
PHX won 129-102. PHX shot 56% (49 of 87) to SAC's 41%, 8 of 31 from three. PHX turned it over 12 times to SAC's 21. Booker led with 33 (13 of 21, 1 of 6 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Brooks added 18, Gillespie 15. The hinge was Q4, 32-19: a lead of 14 became 27. O'Neale was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
1/04 vs OKC 108-105 — PHX notes
PHX won 108-105. PHX shot 44% (35 of 79) to OKC's 48%, 17 of 43 from three, and went to the line 29 times to OKC's 19 — 21 points from the stripe to their 17. PHX turned it over 15 times to OKC's 9. The glass went 49-29 for them. Goodwin led with 26 (9 of 16, 8 of 13 from three); Booker added 24, Brooks 22. The hinge was Q3, 32-24: PHX came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 1. PHX trailed 42-49 at the half and won the second half 66-56. Ighodaro was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
1/05 @ HOU 97-100 — PHX notes
PHX lost 97-100. PHX shot 42% (37 of 88) to HOU's 44%, 14 of 41 from three, and got to the line 12 times to HOU's 21. The glass went 40-51 against them. Booker led with 27 (9 of 20, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Brooks added 15, O'Neale 15. Q1 was theirs, 29-25, but the other 3 periods went 75-68 against them. They led by as many as 13. Allen's -8 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/07 @ MEM 117-98 — PHX notes
PHX won 117-98. PHX shot 46% (45 of 97) to MEM's 42%, 22 of 56 from three, and got to the line 8 times to MEM's 14. Brooks led with 21 (8 of 22, 5 of 12 from three); Allen added 19, Booker 13. The hinge was Q2, 35-24: a lead of 7 became 18, and the lead reached 26. Booker was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
1/09 vs NYK 112-107 — PHX notes
PHX won 112-107. PHX shot 45% (38 of 85) to NYK's 45%, 16 of 42 from three. PHX turned it over 9 times to NYK's 17. The glass went 37-50 against them. Booker led with 31 (10 of 23, 4 of 6 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Brooks added 27, O'Neale 12. The hinge was Q3, 32-26: a lead of 2 became 8. Brooks was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
1/11 vs WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 102, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Booker at 26 and Brooks at 21 a game. Without Green (28 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 122, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; McCollum at 21 and Sarr at 16 a game. Without Riley (2 straight), Watkins (6 straight), Cooper (19 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 102 a night to Washington's 122 and the turnovers, Washington giving it away 18 times a game to Phoenix's 12. Call it Phoenix 120, Washington 109, Phoenix by 11.
1/13 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 120, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Powell at 20 and Herro at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 101, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Booker at 22 and Brooks at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Green (29 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 101 a night to Miami's 120 and the turnovers, Miami giving it away 18 times a game to Phoenix's 13. Call it Phoenix 115, Miami 111, Miami keeping it close.
1/15 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 102, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Cunningham at 29 and Stewart at 13 a game. Without Cunningham (2 straight), Harris (5 straight), Duren (4 straight). 4 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 105, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 16 free throws a game; Booker at 22 and Brooks at 21 a game. Without Green (30 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 17 times a game to Phoenix's 12 and the glass, where Detroit has been plus-2 a night and Phoenix minus-2. Call it Detroit 112, Phoenix 109, Phoenix keeping it close.
1/17 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brunson at 21 and Anunoby at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 107, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 21 and Brooks at 21 a game. Without Green (31 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 107 a night to New York's 115. Call it New York 114, Phoenix 113, Phoenix keeping it close.
1/02 vs ATL 99-111 — NYK notes
NYK lost 99-111. NYK took 9 more shots (97 to 88), fed by 14 offensive rebounds, but shot 37% to ATL's 48%, 9 of 42 from three. Brunson led with 24 (10 of 23, 1 of 8 from three); Anunoby added 19, Bridges 18. Q4 was theirs, 29-17, the deficit cut from 24 to 12, but the other 3 periods went 94-70 against them. Clarkson's -15 in 14 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/03 vs PHI 119-130 — NYK notes
NYK lost 119-130. NYK shot 43% (38 of 89) to PHI's 54%, 16 of 40 from three, and went to the line 32 times to PHI's 23 — 27 points from the stripe to their 15. Brunson led with 31 (10 of 21, 2 of 4 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Towns added 23, McBride 20. Q4 was theirs, 32-31, the deficit cut from 12 to 11, but the other 3 periods went 99-87 against them. Bridges's -11 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/05 @ DET 90-121 — NYK notes
NYK lost 90-121. NYK shot 42% (32 of 76) to DET's 55%, 13 of 30 from three. NYK turned it over 20 times to DET's 15, and DET turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 30-44 against them. Brunson led with 25 (10 of 21, 2 of 6 from three); McBride added 17, Bridges 10. Q1 was theirs, 29-30, but the other 3 periods went 91-61 against them. Anunoby's -31 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/07 vs LAC 123-111 — NYK notes
NYK won 123-111. NYK shot 50% (47 of 94) to LAC's 43%, 14 of 33 from three. Brunson led with 26 (9 of 12, 4 of 5 from three); Anunoby added 20, Towns 20. The hinge was Q4, 33-24: a lead of 3 became 12, and the lead reached 15. NYK trailed 51-56 at the half and won the second half 72-55. Kolek was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
1/09 @ PHX 107-112 — NYK notes
NYK lost 107-112. NYK shot 45% (37 of 82) to PHX's 45%, 16 of 41 from three. NYK turned it over 17 times to PHX's 9. The glass went 50-37 for them. Brunson led with 27 (9 of 19, 5 of 10 from three); McBride added 17, Anunoby 15. Q2 was theirs, 37-34, the deficit cut from 5 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 78-70 against them.
1/11 @ POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Portland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Avdija at 31 and Sharpe at 20 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Holiday (27 straight), Grant (12 straight), Henderson (39 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 117, shooting 43 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and McBride at 16 a game. Without Hart (8 straight), Shamet (22 straight). One day's rest.
So: Portland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-1 a night and Portland minus-4 and the defense, Portland allowing 109 a night to New York's 117. Call it Portland 118, New York 112.
1/14 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; DeRozan at 22 and LaVine at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Murray (4 straight), Sabonis (26 straight), Plowden (28 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 118, shooting 46 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Towns at 17 a game. Without Shamet (23 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-2 a night and Sacramento minus-8 and the turnovers, New York giving it away 15 times a game to Sacramento's 11. Call it New York 115, Sacramento 114, Sacramento keeping it close.
1/15 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 19 free throws a game; Ste. Curry at 25 and Butler III at 21 a game. Without Kuminga (13 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 114, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Brunson at 22 and Anunoby at 16 a game. Without Shamet (24 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Golden State wins, and the game turns on the defense, Golden State allowing 108 a night to New York's 114. Call it Golden State 118, New York 110.
1/17 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brunson at 21 and Anunoby at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 107, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 21 and Brooks at 21 a game. Without Green (31 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 107 a night to New York's 115. Call it New York 114, Phoenix 113, Phoenix keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXCG C. Gillespie
DB D. Booker
DB D. Brooks
GA G. Allen
JG J. Goodwin
MW M. Williams
OI O. Ighodaro
RD R. Dunn
RF R. Fleming
RO R. O'Neale
NYKJB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
KM K. McCullar Jr.
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MD M. Diawara
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
TK T. Kolek
PHX/NYK the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Booker scores 31 points, Brooks adds 27 as Suns hold on to beat Knicks 112-107
PHOENIX -- — Devin Booker scored 31 points and Dillon Brooks added 27 as the Phoenix Suns beat the New York Knicks 112-107 on Friday night.
Royce O'Neale had 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers and Mark Williams 10 to help Phoenix win for the fourth time in five games. Brooks shot 8 for 15 from the field, including 5 for 9 from beyond the arc. Booker was just 10 for 23, but made 4 of 6 from 3.
Jalen Brunson scored 27 points to lead the Knicks, who have lost five of seven. Miles McBride had 17 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 15 points and 12 rebounds, OG Anunoby also scored 15 and Jordan Clarkson 12 and Mikal Bridges 11.
The Knicks trailed by 12 points late in the third quarter before Onunoby's 3 with 7:47 to go in the fourth pulled them to 96-92. Mitchell Robinson had a layup and then an alley-oop dunk to cut the Knicks' deficit to 101-99 with 4:10 left, and Anunoby made two free throws to tie the score a little more than a minute later.
Booker hit a jumper to put the Suns back ahead, and O'Neale made a 3 to push the lead to five with 1:16 remaining. McBride's jumper made it 106-103 about 20 seconds later. Grayson Allen made two free throws with 14 seconds to go before Bridges made a 3 to get the Knicks within two 9 seconds later. Allen was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and made both free throws.
Anunoby made 1 of 3 free throws with 2 seconds left, and Brooks made two from the line with 0.8 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Collin Gillespie 's 3 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the third gave the Suns a 76-70 lead, but the Knicks scored the next seven points to take the lead on Brunson's two free throws 1:09 later.
O'Neale and Booker each hit two 3s during 14-0 run that gave the Suns a 92-80 lead — their largest of the game — with 1:55 remaining in the third.
Brooks scored 20 points and Booker had 17 to help the Suns take a 62-60 lead at halftime. Brunson had 13 to lead the Knicks, and McBride and Clarkson each added 12.