Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Goran Dragic dropped 32 points on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 112-88 rout of the New York Knicks on Friday.
Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris each scored 16 points, with Bledsoe adding seven rebounds and six assists in Phoenix's sixth straight win. P.J. Tucker netted 11 points and Miles Plumlee also added 11 with 12 rebounds for Phoenix.
The Suns moved up to seventh place in the Western Conference with Memphis' loss to Golden State. Phoenix now leads the Grizzlies by one half game for the eighth position and are ahead of ninth-place Dallas by one game.
"We are just trying to get in," said Suns coach Jeff Hornacek. "We are not concerned with trying to climb the ladder and get way up there. We talk about just having to win our games and we won't worry about what these other teams do."
Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks with 21 points and Amar'e Stoudemire contributed 19 in the setback, New York's third loss in its last four games.
The Knicks, meanwhile, fell two games back of Atlanta for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining.
"I thought that they were more aggressive than us tonight," said Knicks coach Mike Woodson. "I thought we came out and it was like a back and forth shooting match, but we got into a situation where one pass and the shot was up."
A Stoudemire layup gave the Knicks a 22-19 lead with 4:23 left in the first quarter. Green responded with a 3-pointer which started a 15-4 quarter-ending run for Phoenix. Dragic's layup with 29.9 seconds left capped the run and helped the Suns to a 34-26 lead after one.
Iman Shumpert's jumper cut the deficit to four, 38-34, with 8:55 remaining in the second. The Knicks went cold from there, making only two baskets the rest of the half, and were outscored 24-6 over the final eight-plus minutes.
Dragic buried two 3s early in the fourth and the lead swelled to 30, 75-45, at the 8:55 mark.
The lead grew to as many as 32 and the Suns emptied the bench in the fourth in cruising to victory.
Game Notes
Phoenix scored 25 points on 13 New York turnovers ... 12 players scored for the Suns ... The Suns owned a 46-24 margin in the paint and a 26-8 advantage on the fastbreak.
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