The recent winning streak by the Houston Rockets ended at six games as the New York Knicks won at home Monday night, 125-123 (box score).
The Knicks (19-42) overcame a talent gap against Houston (39-21) by crushing the smaller Rockets with a 65-34 rebounding edge.
The Rockets trailed by as many as 19 points late in the third quarter before Russell Westbrook and James Harden led them back. However, they weren’t able to get over the hump, with Harden missing a layup in the final minute that would have put the Rockets up by a point.
Westbrook then missed a mid-range shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime. Instead, the Knicks celebrated just their 10th win in 30 games this season at Madison Square Garden.
Russell Westbrook: "We just weren't ready to play. It's that simple. We can't take games like this lightly." pic.twitter.com/89Ya1tgmkp
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 3, 2020
Westbrook tallied 24 points and nine rebounds, but his 9-of-19 shooting night (47.4%) snapped a career-long streak of seven consecutive games shooting better than 52% from the field.
After turning his ankle in the game’s opening moments, Westbrook stayed in but had a game-high six turnovers in his 37 minutes.
Russell Westbrook: "We were supposed to come out and take care of business to be completely honest and that starts with myself… So, this one's on me. I didn't bring the amount of pressure I needed to be able to make us go. So, I'll take this one and get ready for the next one." pic.twitter.com/2A1WJnkp2d
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 3, 2020
Harden led the Rockets with 35 points and eight assists, but he shot only 8-of-22 overall (36.4%) and 3-of-13 on 3-pointers (23.1%). During postgame interviews, both former MVPs and 2020 All-Stars cited effort issues early in the game as the biggest reason for the unexpected loss.
Houston trailed by 21 points midway through the second quarter. For the game, Harden tied his season low with just two rebounds in 39 minutes.
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James Harden: "We had a letup. We weren't consistent with our defensive principles throughout the course of the game and we paid for it. Simple." pic.twitter.com/fui6XQnyTT
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 3, 2020
James Harden: "It's not about who we're playing. It's about us. I think you have that approach about what we do on both ends of the floor every possession. Like we're building towards a bigger picture. Tonight, we just didn't approach the game the right way." pic.twitter.com/BO2yDRpxi6
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 3, 2020
Starting forwards Danuel House Jr. and Robert Covington each scored 20 points and combined for 10 made 3-pointers in 22 attempts (45.5%), which kept Houston within striking distance. Veteran center P.J. Tucker didn’t score and had just five rebounds in 34 minutes, only two nights after posting nine points and 13 rebounds in a key win at Boston.
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The Knicks were led by 27 points on 55.6% shooting from rookie guard RJ Barrett, but they also had four players (Bobby Portis, Mitchell Robinson, Frank Ntilikina, and Wayne Ellington) in double figures off the bench. New York’s reserves outscored Houston’s by a 59-24 margin.
Knicks bigs Julius Randle, Taj Gibson, and Mitchell Robinson pummeled the smaller Rockets with a combined 39 rebounds in 78 minutes.
Houston returns to action Thursday with a critical home game versus the Los Angeles Clippers (41-19), who they now trail by two games for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings. With a national TNT telecast, tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Toyota Center.
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Mike D'Antoni: "Our first three quarters, especially the first two, were kind of lackadaisical… When you don't have the appropriate fear or force, then stuff happens." pic.twitter.com/32kK2eSzYQ
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 3, 2020
Mike D'Antoni on reason for Houston's slow start to the game: "A lot of emotional stuff going on. We won a big game in Boston. We came here and weren't ready to play in the first 20-24 minutes." pic.twitter.com/tr9CM2saEv
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 3, 2020