Houston’s starting backcourt of John Wall (26 points, 4 assists) and Eric Gordon (24 points, 6 assists) combined for 50 points on 50% shooting on Saturday night in New York, but the Rockets still lost their fifth consecutive game, 121-99 (box score).
The Rockets (11-15) remained quite short-handed, with two of their top three scorers and defenders sidelined by injury. Looking ahead, the return timetables for big man Christian Wood (right ankle sprain) and guard Victor Oladipo (right foot strain) are not yet clear, though both players were with the Rockets on the first game of a three-game road trip.
Houston shot just 8-of-43 from 3-point range (18.6%) at Madison Square Garden, and veteran forwards PJ Tucker and Danuel House Jr. combined to score zero points for the game Tucker started and went 0-for-4 in 31 minutes, while House was 0-for-8 off the bench in 23 minutes. Tucker was questionable going in with a left thigh contusion, though he was able to keep alive his NBA-leading streak of 267 consecutive games played. The 6-foot-5 forward last missed a regular-season game in April 2017.
New York was led by rookie guard Immanuel Quickley, who scored 22 points in just 21 minutes as a reserve. Quickley connected on 7-of-9 shots overall (77.8%), including 4-of-6 (66.7%) on 3-pointers. Veteran big man Julius Randle added 22 points and 9 rebounds in 33 minutes for the improving Knicks (13-15), who won for the fourth time in six games.
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For the Rockets, reserve guards Sterling Brown and David Nwaba each scored 11 on Saturday, while veteran center DeMarcus Cousins added a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in 22 minutes.
Houston’s road trip continues on Monday night in Washington against the Wizards (6-17), who have the second-worst record in the NBA and the worst in the Eastern Conference. On paper, that could offer a better opportunity for the weary Rockets to finally end their prolonged skid.
For now, check out postgame reaction and highlights from Saturday.
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