Vince Carter Ignites Suns Past Knicks, Suns Notch Big Win In New York 129-121

Vince Carter needed 9 points to hit 20,000 points on his career. He hit that mark in the second quarter...and then kept on going.

In a game that caused a bit of grief for Suns fans everywhere, the boys in purple and orange pulled together what was one of their more impressive wins on the season. After outscoring the Knicks by 9 in the first quarter, everything seemed to be going the Suns way. The offense was clicking, the defense wasn't horrendous, and everyone just looked comfortable. That's when Mike D'Antoni decided he had seen enough.

The Knicks came out firing in the second quarter, eliminating the Suns lead and eventually taking a 3 point lead heading into halftime. For a Suns team that has been notoriously bad in the third quarter this season, it wasn't exactly the type of second quarter we wanted to see. The Suns then came out and shook off their third quarter rust, again outscoring the Knicks by 9. The fourth quarter saw a few runs coming from both teams, but ultimately, it was the Suns standing victorious when the final buzzers sounded.

I'll keep the rest of this relatively short, as being sick with bronchitis and other various maladies doesn't exactly lend itself well to clear thoughts or sentences that make sense. I'll do my best before I crash!

Notable Stats

• Vince Carter hit his 20,000th and 20,001st points on two free throws in the second quarter. He went on to finish the game with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, chipping in 5 3-pointers in the process.
• Every Suns starter scored in double figures and finished the game with a positive +/-.
• The Suns outrebounded the Knicks 48-38, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds to the Knicks 10.
• Steve Nash is averaging 19.2 points, 14.8 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game over the last 5 games. The Suns are winners of 4 games of the last 5 as well.
• Amar'e Stoudemire scored 41 points, but was limited to 6 rebounds and picked up 5 personal fouls.
• Hakim Warrick, one of the unsung heroes of the fourth quarter, came off the bench to score 9 points and grab 6 rebounds. Most importantly, he did a great job defensively on Amar'e Stoudemire while still attacking him on the offensive end.

The Suns pulled out a victory in a big way in Madison Square Garden, matching their season high win streak of 3. Coming up next on the schedule are some very winnable games, with the next four of the road trip coming against Cleveland, Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia. Jared Dudley had said before the trip that he expected the team to win four of the five. Vince Carter then chimed in and said that he thinks the team could win all five. After today's win, it's looking more and more likely that if the team keeps up their current efforts, they could very well be on their way to winning all five.

Again, my apologies for not having more for the recap, but let's get this comments section rockin'! I shall be retiring to my bed, hopefully napping this nasty sickness off.

Next on the schedule: @ Cleveland Cavaliers (8-32) on Wednesday, January 19th.