The Knicks’ four-game West coast road trip begins tonight, as they face off against the under-the-radar Phoenix Suns.
A trip like this should serve as a true litmus test for New York, who were able to steady
the ship with a 123-111 Wednesday evening win versus the Clippers, ending an ugly four game slide.
Heading into that game, the squad had lost consecutive games to San Antonio, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit, respectively. They were in dire need of a win in front of the home crowd before some time away from the Garden – and that’s exactly what happened.
Miles McBride slid back into the starting lineup, and that may have been the change that the Knicks needed. The first five had an extremely balanced showing, with all starters scoring at least 15 points.
Most notably, KAT had a notable bounce-back game, performing well down the stretch. Despite some shooting struggles, he filled up the stat sheet, posting a line of 20/11/7.
The bench unit held the line, and the Knicks pulled away in the second half for a relatively comfortable victory, setting the right tone before the road trip.
It’s the Suns they’ll be taking on, who, despite not getting too much media attention on a national level, have looked very strong thus far in the season. Devin Booker is the star of the show, of course, but Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams, and Royce O’Neale have rounded out a Suns starting lineup that has taken seven of their most recent nine.
Life in the West isn’t easy, and their 22-15 record is to be taken seriously. Sidelined tonight includes Jalen Green (who has only appeared twice this year) and Jamaree Bouyea, who had served as their backup one for the past six weeks.
On the New York side of things, Josh Hart and Landry Shamet remained sidelined. Hart has been ruled out already, but we should be hearing a clearer timetable for his return in the next day or so. Shamet still hasn’t had a timetable set yet for his return.
This one should be a good one, and this Phoenix squad should be taken seriously.
Prediction:
The Knicks come into the road trip poised to start things off on the right note. Brunson has had some big games against Phoenix in his career, and he adds another one tonight. The bench plays well, McBride continues his hot shooting, and New York takes one home. Let’s hope that I’m right. Go Knicks!
Game Details
Teams: New York Knicks (24-13) vs Phoenix Suns (22-15)
Date: Friday, January 9, 2026
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Location: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ
TV: MSG
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky
