PHOENIX — — Jalen Brunson scored 36 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 34 and the New York Knicks defeated the Phoenix Suns 138-122 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.

All five Knicks starters scored in double figures. Josh Hart had 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

Devin Booker scored 33 points on 12-of-23 shooting and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-depleted Suns, who have lost five straight.

New York never trailed and hit its first eight shots, including four three-pointers. The Knicks carried that momentum to a 44-28 lead after one quarter and a 76-58 lead at halftime. Brunson had 23 points before halftime on 8-for-9 shooting, including hitting all four threes.

The Suns cut the deficit to 88-77 midway through the third quarter, but the Knicks responded with an 11-2 run.

Phoenix star Kevin Durant missed his seventh straight game with a left calf strain. Teammate and three-time All-Star Bradley Beal was out for the fifth straight game, also due to a strained left calf.

Takeaways

Knicks: New York is starting to look like the team many envisioned when they traded for Towns — a four-time All-Star — before the season. The starting line-up is wide and offers scoring opportunities, which makes it difficult for the opponent’s defense.

Suns: Things have been tough for Phoenix lately and the problems can’t be entirely attributed to injuries. They came up flat against the Knicks, especially on defense, giving up easy transition buckets and good looks from three-point range.

Key moment

Brunson knocked home a three-pointer on the first possession of the game – a harbinger of things to come.

Key stat

The Knicks went 18 for 23 (78.3%) in the first quarter, including 8 for 11 (72.7%) from 3-point range.

Next

Knicks travel to Utah on Saturday and Suns host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

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