Knicks' up-and-down season continues with loss to Suns
Knicks guards Mikal Bridges and Jordan Clarkson react after Clarkson was called for a foul against the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Credit: Ed Murray
Is this as bad as it looks?
It can’t be. Not after all this hope. Not after all this hype.
It’s getting harder and harder for fans not to panic, especially after watching the Knicks lose to the Phoenix Suns, 106-99, on Saturday night for their eighth loss in the last 10 games.
On an alumni night when the franchise celebrated more than 50 of its most famous players, the current team played a game with few moments worth celebrating. That fact was driven home with less than a minute left when Karl-Anthony Towns airballed a three-pointer that could have made it a four-point game and the fans reacted with frustrated boos.
“You don’t ever want to be booed, but at the end of the day, the fans are passionate,” coach Mike Brown said. “It hurts the staff. It hurts the players. We’re not trying to lose. The guys played hard. But the fans have every right to boo or cheer or do whatever they want.”
Towns and Deuce McBride scored 23 points each and OG Anunoby had 21 for the Knicks (25-17), who were playing without two-fifths of their starting lineup as Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson were out with ankle injuries.
It marked the third game since Jan. 1 in which the Knicks scored fewer than 100 points and the fifth game in which they scored fewer than 108. The Knicks turned the ball over 17 times and were hammered on the defensive boards.
Still, Brown remains confident that his team, projected to be a top contender, will work things out. “You don’t want to lose games at all, especially going 2-8 in the last 10,” he said. “There’s a concern, but not to the point where we are going to overhaul everything. We have to work. We have to look in the mirror. Starting with me.”
Are the Knicks really the contenders we all thought they were when they won the NBA Cup and produced a 10-2 stretch in December that lifted them to 23-9? That’s getting harder and harder to envision, though they still have time to right the ship.
That most frustrating part of this first season under Brown is that fans just don’t know what to expect. We’ve seen both the incredible highs and lows of what this team can be, and we still don’t have a clear read on what to expect on any given night.
The Knicks entered Saturday night with 41 regular-season games played and 41 to go. Half a season should be enough of a sample to get a read on this team. Yet here we are, and the picture remains murky and confusing.
“I don’t want to lose any game,” said Towns, who said the ball slipped in his hand when he launched the three-point air ball. “The concern is winning our next one and giving our fans something to cheer for.”
All signs pointed to the Knicks having another rough night against the Suns. Brunson and Hart were out, and making matters worse, Suns star Devin Booker, who scored 27 points, returned after missing four straight games with an ankle injury and illness.
“He loves to play here,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said before the game.
The Knicks also love to play at the Garden. Entering Saturday night, their 16-4 home record was the best of any team in the Eastern Conference and second only to defending champion Oklahoma City (20-2).
Knicks management believes they have a championship roster. Brown and his high-octane offense were supposed to push them to the next level and allow them to take advantage of the fact that Boston and Indiana each was missing its best player.
Yet halfway through the season, the results haven’t been all that different from what they were at the midpoint of last season under Tom Thibodeau.
Here’s a sampling:
This season after 41 games: The Knicks were 25-16.
Last season after 41 games: The Knicks were 26-15.
This season after 41 games: The Knicks were in third place in the Eastern Conference.
Last season after 41 games: The Knicks were in third place in the Eastern Conference.
This season after 41 games: The Knicks were ranked third in offense and 19th in defense.
Last season after 41 games: The Knicks were ranked fifth in offense and 13th in defense.
We could keep going on and on with this list, noting a number of similarities, including a bench that is ranked 27th or worse in both seasons in both points and minutes.
One big thing that has changed is how the Knicks react when key players are injured. For all the flak Thibodeau got for running his starters into the ground, injuries suffered by key players aren’t much different this season from last season. What is different is how the Knicks react.
This still seems like a team searching for an identity. When Brunson isn’t on the floor to make key buckets in the fourth quarter, when Hart isn’t there making key defensive plays and doing the little things that keep the team going, there seems to be a lot of searching for an identity.
They still have some time to figure this out, but the hourglass is getting bottom-heavy.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
