The decisive play of the Suns’ success comes at the end of the third quarter, when – with the Knicks ahead by two – the hosts score four points in less than a second, with two close baskets by Torrey Craig and Cam Payne for the first advantage in the recovery. It is the prelude to a final quarter in which the Suns sweeps 38-17, led by DeAndre Ayton’s double double 26 + 15 and Chris Paul’s 17 with 11 assists, starring in a dispute with Tom Thibodeau.
The clash between the veteran and the Knicks coach cost Julius Randle a technician, but above all turned on CP3 – who scored two shots from mid-range to definitively direct the game. The guests did not need Randle’s 24 + 11 and RJ Barrett’s 23, suffering another comeback from the Suns after the one on April 26 – in which they went to the interval ahead 63-56, exactly like in this game.