PHOENIX - When the Knicks lost in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Julius Randall calmly sat down for a postgame interview and talked about the team's need to show the fight. He said the Knicks feel like a sinking ship, just needing a win.
But the fight he was talking about was the effort and defensive mindset, not the one he displayed in bad timing Friday night.
The Knicks lead 10 in the third quarter and Randall, playing well, started a scuffle with Phoenix's Cam Johnson and was kicked out.
The Knicks later took a 14-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but Johnson wound up banking on the buzzer in a straight three-pointer from 30 feet as the Suns inflicted an astonishing 115–114 loss to the Knicks.
Johnson scored 21 of his career-high 38 points in the fourth quarter, as the Knicks (25–38) suffered a seventh straight loss and finished 17th in the last 20 games. He made up his loss in 28:13 from the bench, shooting 9-for-12 from three-point range. He made a 6-for-7 shot from outside the arc in the fourth quarter.
Randall scored 25 points in 28:08 in less than three quarters, and the game again demonstrated how much the Knicks needed him.
"You want your team to understand why you win or lose," said coach Tom Thibodeau. "It's an emotional game, but you can't cross that line. You have to know where to stop. And none of us are perfect, we're going to make mistakes. But we have to be disciplined." '
The Knicks went up 95-81 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Johnson's three-pointer tied it on 104 with 3:13 to play. Mitchell Robinson's follow dunk and Emmanuel Quickley's three-pointer gave the Knicks a 2:12 lead of 109-104.
After three-pointers by Johnson and Jay Crowder gave the Sons a 112–111 lead, Robinson clocked 15.6 seconds in a missed shot from RJ Barrett to put the Knicks 113–112 ahead. The sans Cam Payne missed a driving layup and Alec Burks hit the first of two free throws with 7.1 seconds to give the Knicks a two-point lead. He missed second, however, setting the stage for Johnson.
Barrett scored 20 points despite scoring 6 for 26. Robinson had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Michal Bridges scored 20 points and Payne had 17 points and 16 assists for the Sons (51-12).
"Mental toughness," said Thibodeau. "When you face adversity, being mentally tough is the most important thing to be in any situation. We can't bow our heads, we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have to get out there and fight." This is the situation now. It is about our fight, our will, determination, solidarity, our spirit, all of them. We have to make it come true.
The drama in which Randall was evicted began with little signs of trouble. A shot went up and Randall and Johnson came together, jockeying for position under the rim. After Johnson pushed Randall backwards, Randall turned and ran right over him, with the two going nose-to-nose. When referee Daedric Taylor got between them, Randall reached over to Taylor and pushed Johnson hard as both teams entered the field. But Randall was still hot, driving Burks away as he tried to calm him down.
After a review, officials assessed a double technical for Randall and Johnson and then a second technical for Randall, resulting in an ejection left in the third quarter with a 2:40.
The Knicks were up 86-76 at the time of contention. Randall had been playing aggressively from the start of the game, outplaying Crowder and even taking Deandre Ayton to the rim repeatedly to score.