Phoenix @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 21, 2017 ) Phoenix 107, New York 105

The New York Knicks and the Phoenix Suns both turned things around after slow starts by featuring some of the best young players in the game. Kristaps Porzingis and the New York Knicks continue a five-game homestand on Friday by hosting Devin Booker, T.J. Warren and the Suns.

Porzingis, 22, led New York to three straight wins after an 0-3 start but could not muster a fourth consecutive 30-plus scoring outing on Wednesday as the Knicks fell off with a 119-97 loss to the Houston Rockets. "We didn't have the same energy we had in some of the other games," New York coach Jeff Hornacek told reporters. "Maybe it was one of those nights. We'll come in Thursday, have a good little practice and be ready for the next game." Phoenix lost its first three games before parting ways with coach Earl Watson and has since taken four of five, including a 122-116 triumph at Washington on Wednesday. Booker, 21, is averaging 25.4 points during that five-game span while Warren, 24, went off for a career-high 40 points on 16-of-22 shooting on Wednesday.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Arizona (Phoenix), MSG (New York)

ABOUT THE SUNS (4-4): Warren scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's 122-114 win at Brooklyn and stayed hot the next night, scoring 28 of his 40 in the second half as Phoenix overcame a 22-point deficit. “It’s just me being aggressive, taking the shots I know I can take,” Warren told reporters. "(Wednesday) happened to be one of those nights where everything was just falling. My teammates did a nice job of finding me in the right spots, and me just cutting for layups was me being myself, being T.J." Warren is averaging 24.8 points over the last four games and posted a double-double in each of the last two.

ABOUT THE KNICKS (3-4): Porzingis is starting to get some help from shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who got off to a slow start after signing a four-year deal worth $71 million in the offseason. The 25-year-old averaged 9.8 points on 13-of-49 shooting in the first four games before breaking out for 34 points in a win at Cleveland on Sunday. Hardaway followed that up with 13 points against Denver on Monday and led the team with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, in Wednesday's setback.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Booker is 14-of-26 from 3-point range in the last four games.

2. New York G Ron Baker (ankle) sat out the last four games and is day-to-day.

3. Phoenix took both meetings last season and five of the last seven in the series.

PREDICTION: Suns 121, Knicks 113