OG Anunoby's latest big night leads Knicks past Suns

New York's OG Anunoby continued the surge he began during Jalen Brunson's absence Sunday night, when Anunoby welcomed Brunson back to the Knicks' lineup by scoring 32 points in a 112-98 win over the visiting Phoenix Suns.

Brunson, who began the night leads the Knicks with 26.3 points and 7.4 assists per game, finished with 15 and six respectively in his first game since March 6, when he sprained his right ankle in overtime of a 113-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Knicks (50-28) went 9-6 without Brunson and solidified their hold on third place in the Eastern Conference thanks largely to Anunoby, who is averaging 23.8 points per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field -- including 41.8 percent on 3-pointers -- over the last 16 games.

In 56 games before Brunson got hurt. Anunoby averaged 16.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field, including 36.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges finished with 22 points for the Knicks, who frittered away most of a 19-point led in the fourth quarter but completed a back-to-back sweep. New York beat the host Atlanta Hawks 121-105 on Saturday afternoon.

Miles McBride, who initially replaced Brunson in the starting lineup before going down with a left groin injury March 20, also returned Sunday after an eight-game absence and had eight points off the bench.

Devin Booker scored 40 points for the skidding Suns (35-43), whose play-in hopes dimmed further with their sixth straight loss. Phoenix is 2 1/2 games behind the 10th-place Dallas Mavericks.

Bradley Beal had 16 points while Grayson Allen added 15 points off the bench for the Suns, who got within five points twice with under four minutes to play before the Knicks ended the game on a 13-4 run.

--Field Level Media