Anunoby keeps rolling in Brunson's return as Knicks beat Suns 112-98 to reach 50 wins again

NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 19 of his 32 points in a perfect third quarter to keep up the best scoring stretch of his career, even with Jalen Brunson returning to New York's lineup, as the Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns 112-98 on Sunday night.

Brunson had 15 points and six assists after missing 15 games with a sprained right ankle that he sustained exactly a month earlier. The Knicks didn't need much from their All-Star guard, especially while Anunoby was going 7 for 7 in the third quarter, 5 for 5 from 3-point range.

The Knicks improved to 50-28, giving them consecutive 50-win seasons for the first time since having four in a row from 1991-92 through 1994-95. Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges scored 22 points against his former team.

Devin Booker scored 40 points for the Suns, who have lost six straight after a three-game road trip in which they played without Kevin Durant because of a sprained left ankle.

Suns: The Suns are 11th in the Western Conference and have work to do in the final week of the regular season just to get into the play-in tournament to have any hopes of making the playoffs.

Knicks: With Deuce McBride also returning Sunday and scoring eight points after missing eight games with a groin injury, the Knicks are healthy for a final week in which they will play Cleveland, Boston and potential first-round opponent Detroit.

With the Knicks leading by 10, Anunoby made consecutive 3-pointers, and after a Suns basket, blew by a defender for a dunk. He followed another Phoenix basket with another 3-pointer for a personal 11-4 run and a 78-61 lead.

Anunoby has scored 20 or more points in a career-best 10 straight games.

The Knicks host Boston on Tuesday. The Suns are at Golden State on Tuesday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New York Knicks' Mikal Bridges, left, dribbles the ball against Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker, right, shoots the ball against New York Knicks' OG Anunoby, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Phoenix Suns' Collin Gillespie, right, steals the ball from New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson, front left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Knicks' Josh Hart, left, and Miles McBride, right, react after McBride scored during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Phoenix Suns' Grayson Allen, center right, goes for a layup against New York Knicks' Mitchell Robinson (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Knicks' OG Anunoby (8) dribbles against Phoenix Suns' Bradley Beal, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

NEW YORK (AP) — A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, killing six people in the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the U.S., according to witnesses and a law enforcement official.

The New York Fire Department said it received a report of the crash at 3:17 p.m. All six people aboard were killed, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.

Witness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.

Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, said she saw the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water.

“There was a bunch of smoke coming out. It was spinning pretty fast, and it landed in the water really hard,” she said in a phone interview.

Video posted to social media showed parts of the chopper splashing into the water, and the overturned aircraft was submerged, with rescue boats circling it.

The skies were overcast at the time, but visibility over the river was not substantially impaired. Rescue crews had to deal with 45-degree water temperatures.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate.

The rescue craft were near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side of the river. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were on streets near the scene with their lights flashing.

The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with both planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads that whisk business executives and others to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.

Over the years, there have been multiple crashes, including a collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River in 2009 that killed nine people and the 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights that went down into the East River, killing five people.

A medical transport plane killed seven people when it plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood in January. That happened two days after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair in Washington — the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation.

The crashes and other close calls have left some people worried about the safety of flying.

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

First responders from New Jersey and New York respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

A New York Fire Department Marine 1 boat departs from Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)