PHOENIX – J.R. Smith sank a baseline 21-footer at the buzzer after a Phoenix turnover with a second to play, giving the depleted New York Knicks a 99-97 victory over the Suns on Wednesday night.
Smith’s tough jumper from 15 feet had tied it at 97 with 10.6 seconds to go. Then, after the turnover, Jason Kidd inbounded to Smith, who got the shot off as he sailed toward the out-of-bounds line. Smith scored 27 and Kidd had 23.
Jared Dudley had a career-high 36 for Phoenix, including two free throws that gave the Suns a 97-95 lead with 34.5 seconds to go.
New York was without the NBA’s No. 2 scorer, Carmelo Anthony (hyperextended knee), and Raymond Felton (broken finger), both injured in the Christmas loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles.
The Suns lost Goran Dragic in the final seconds of the first half, when he was undercut by Smith on a layup attempt and fell hard to the floor. Dragic had bruises to his hip, back and wrist. Smith was called for a flagrant foul.
Dudley made 11 of his 17 shots, going 5 of 8 from 3-point range. He also made all nine of his free throws as the Suns lost their third game in a row.
With the score tied at 95, Smith missed a jumper 52 seconds from the finish and the Suns got the ball. Dudley was fouled on a drive to the hoop and made both free throws to make it 97-95.
Then Smith, with P.J. Tucker all over him, sank a fade-away from just outside the free throw line with 10.6 seconds remaining to tie.
Phoenix called a 20-second timeout but its play broke down. Telfair eventually stepped out of bounds chasing a loose ball with one second to go.
After a timeout, Kidd tossed the inbounds pass to Smith, who got the shot off, over Tucker, from just inside the 3-point line. His teammates mobbed him when it was good.
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