The adjustments the Suns made naturally had an effect.
They even went on a 6-2 run against the Knicks at one point, cutting the deficit to within five.
But then, Chen Xi's time arrived once again.
His utterly unreasonable individual offense and absurdly accurate outside shooting left the Suns' perimeter defense with no answer.
In the blink of an eye, another 10-3 counterattack run threw the Suns' rhythm back into disarray.
Once the lead was stretched back beyond ten points, Phoenix, knowing they had no defensive advantage, had no choice but to return to their old approach—pushing fast and trying to outscore the Knicks.
And then... they completely lost control of the game.
In the end, under Chen Xi's absurdly steady offensive firepower and New York's relentless defensive pressure, the Suns could only accept defeat.
When the final buzzer sounded, the score stood at 138-127.
The New York Knicks comfortably claimed another victory with an eleven-point lead.
Chen Xi posted a monstrous stat line of 41 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, and 0 turnovers.
While leading his team to victory, he also further solidified his scoring average, continuing to hold a firm lead over second-place Luka Doncic.
The facts proved that as long as the opponent was strong enough, Chen only got stronger, continuing to put up huge numbers with ease and consistency.
Looking at the other players' numbers—
Paul George recorded 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal, a fairly standard performance.
Devin Booker, meanwhile, finished with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 4 turnovers.
Setting aside the turnovers, it was still a commendable outing.
Ever since truly entering his prime, Booker's performances had been remarkably steady.
Mid-range masters with this playstyle, simple and efficient, generally did not experience major