Even a fast start by the New York Knicks couldn’t keep the Phoenix Suns from eventual victory at “The Mecca of Basketball” on Monday evening.

The Suns didn’t seem to look like themselves to start the game.

They were down by as many as 15 in the first quarter to a Knicks team that was propelled by an onslaught of 3-pointers from small forward Reggie Bullock.

However, Devin Booker, along with some untimely fouls from the Knicks, allowed the Suns to cut the deficit to seven by the end of the quarter.

“You can’t have the type of record that they have without being a high-quality team, so you’re not going to beat them just playing well for 12 minutes,” Knicks Head Coach Tom Thibodeau said.  “That’s not going to get it done.”

While Knicks power forward Julius Randle has been the star of the show as of late, Devin Booker took over the contest with a game-high 33 points over the course of 41 minutes. Meanwhile, the Suns much improved defense under Monty Williams kept Randle to only 18 points on 6-17 shooting.

“We wanted this one. We wanted this one bad, just for ourselves,” Booker said.

This passion to win was on display throughout the second quarter and into the last minutes of the game, as the Suns had to compensate for injured players Jae Crowder and Dario Saric. Without them, the Suns lose both an amazing defender, shooter and experienced leader in Crowder and a talented big man who has the ability to also shoot the 3-ball in Saric.

The holes in their lineup were noticeable early, as the Suns were unable to be consistent from outside the perimeter.

The drought didn’t last too long though, as the team was able to end the night at a respectable 14-34 (41.2%) overall.

“I mean obviously we knew about the streak that they had going on and we knew that this was going to be a dogfight.” Booker Said.

And a dogfight it was.

Despite the Suns going up nine points with less than three minutes left in the fourth, the Knicks came back to make it interesting.

It wasn’t until All-Star point guard Chris Paul made an array of brilliant shots that the Suns were able to acquire some breathing room and end the Knicks nine-game winning streak.

After a five-game road trip, the Suns return to the friendly confines of Phoenix Suns Arena when they host the L.A. Clippers on Wednesday night.