Beasley’s big run proves crucial

Michael Beasley always has had the reputation of being able to put up points in bunches.

On Friday night during the Knicks’ 120-107 wipeout of the Suns at the Garden, Beasley more than lived up to his rep.

In the final 1:04 of the third quarter, Beasley scored three straight baskets, all within spitting distance of the rim. Then he opened the Knicks’ fourthquarter scoring with a threepoint play at 11:29. So, he had nine points in 1:45.

If that’s not points in a bunch, wwhat is?

“Fun, I guess,” Beasley said wwhen asked to describe the outburst that led to his 11 points in 17 minutes, his first doubledigit scoring game as a Knick. “Normal at this point. But really just doing what the team needs tonight. It was just me scoring a little bit.”

But for a guy who has been trying to earn a regular spot in the rotation, it had to be satisfying.

“The win is what I think about,” Beasley said. “How many points I score or how many shots I get or rebounds is all miniscule to if we win or not. That’s really all I care about.”

His eruption started at a good time for the Knicks. The Suns, who trailed by as many as 21 points, had fought back to within 11 and were gaining some momentum. Then Beasley, who had removed his customary headband (“I don’t really believe in superstition,” he said. “It was just itching.”), went to work.

“We needed that,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Michael’s got that talent that he can put the ball in the hole. He missed the first couple [of shots] and then he got going. That’s big when we can have a guy come in off the bench and give us some of those baskets and they don’t have to be an outside shot. He can take it to the hole.

“I thought he got fouled on a couple of them. That’s a great weapon to have on the bench and we need him to play like that.”