PHOENIX – Jalen Brunson got his 50-piece on shooting perfection.
After over a decade of losing to Kevin Durant, the Knicks finally beat one of the league’s greatest Friday night, riding a scorching Brunson to a 139-122 upset victory at the Footprint Center.
Brunson dropped a career-high 50 points on 17-for-23 from the field, including a flawless 9-for-9 on treys.
The Knicks tend to win when Brunson connects from long range.
Friday night certainly reinforced that. It bested Brunson’s previous top scoring mark of 48 points, which he established last season.
The win snapped a 13-game losing streak to Durant, who went cold in the fourth quarter with six of his 29 points.
Durant’s dominance over the Knicks spanned three different teams — OKC, Golden State and Brooklyn.
His last three victories with the Nets included a 53-point performance and two triple-doubles. He relished the match up against the outer-borough rival.
But didn’t translate to his first matchup with the Suns (13-12).
“We know how much Knicks fans don’t like us,” Durant said while with the Nets. “Especially now this era, with us not choosing the Knicks, me and Kyrie (Irving). … Imagine the tweets I’ve been getting since I decided to come to the Nets. Knicks fans are still pissed off.”
The Knicks (14-10) improved to 5-8 against teams with winning records, which is relevant because Friday kicked off 10 straight games against opponents with winning records.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett combined for an efficient 44 points.
The Knicks shot 60% overall – including 59% on 3-pointers – mostly because Brunson’s shooting hand was aflame.
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