On Thursday, in their first game since the All-Star break, the Knicks (36*-21) fell way short yet again to the Detroit Pistons. Tonight, they faced off against another tall and physical team, the Houston Rockets (34-21). Through the first quarter, the Knicks set the pace, passed beautifully, and played great defense, but a second-quarter sag put them behind by one at halftime. Houston hit the gas in the third quarter, and an evidently doomed Knicks squad entered the fourth trailing 91-75. Needing a spark, they got it in Jose Alvarado, who had two vital steals and big buckets down the stretch, and Jalen Brunson (otherwise in the barrel all night), who drew three charges overall and hit a couple of big shots in the clutch. Flipping a 15-point deficit, New York wins, 108-106. In a nationally televised game, no less.
New York got OG Anunoby (20 PTS, 4 STL) and Karl-Anthony Towns (25 PTS, 7 RBS) going early. In the first quarter, KAT hit on two hooks and logged a steal, while Anunoby scored on a running three and two dunks (one off his own steal). OG defended the notorious internet troll Kevin Durant, who missed eight of his first 10 shots. Durant would turn it around, though, finishing the night with 30 points on 10-of-26 FG (and a +15).
With Houston bricking 13 of their first 16 shots, New York built a nine-point lead in the quarter, but five offensive boards helped Houston keep pace. At the five-minute mark, Coach Brown paired Brunson (20 PTs, 6-12 FG) with Landry Shamet (14 PTS), Jeremy Sochan, Mohamed Diawara, and Mitchell Robinson (6 PTS, 4 RBS). Sochan, a 29% three-point shooter over his career, was stationed on the perimeter. Not ideal, Coach. The new Knick missed two shots, picked up a foul, and was yanked after two minutes.
A late Reed Sheppard (10 PTS) three-pointer barely lifted the Rockets over the 20-point mark. New York won the period, 27-21.
To open the second, Brown stuck with his starters but handed the keys to Jose Alvarado (8 PTS, 5 STS, 4 AST, 20 MIN). Jose responded with a quick three and two steals, and the Knicks stretched the margin to 13. Brown shuffled the deck from there—Shamet and Robinson in, then Brunson alongside Alvarado. The ball was moving crisply, and New York’s 16 assists were the most ever by the franchise in a first half.
Nothing good can last around here. Alperen Şengün (16 PTS) went to work with a hook, fadeaway, dunk, free throws, and set up Jabari Smith, Jr. (21 PTS) and Sheppard. Durant added three baskets as Houston methodically chipped away, scoring on nine straight possessions during a 13–4 run that cut the deficit to one. Then, with 15 seconds remaining, a loose-ball foul by Towns sent Durant to the line. His two free throws gave the Rockets a 54–53 lead at halftime. It’s the silly fouls that kill us.
Through the half, Durant and Şengün led Houston with 13 points each, while Jabari Smith Jr. added 11 on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting. Thompson put Brunson in a barrel, limiting him to 2 points, 0-for-4 shooting in 17 minutes. Anunoby carried the home team with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and three steals. Both teams shot 51% overall, but Houston held the edge from three (47% to 38%) and on the glass, 19–13. The Knicks forced seven steals, but their 10 turnovers cost them 15 points.
The Rockets came out of halftime on an 11–2 burst. The Garden groaned. When Towns picked up another hooking foul on a drive and then had the gall to argue it, that familiar sinking feeling came back. (Later, KAT hit his 1,200th career three, FYI.)
Tari Eason (11 PTS, 12 RBS) controlled the glass, piling up defensive boards and fueling an 8–0 run that stretched Houston’s lead to 10 as the Knicks missed four straight shots. Durant drilled a three during the surge, and another 8–0 spurt in under a minute pushed the margin to 15 with 2:42 left in the quarter. Ime Udoka sent extra bodies at Brunson on nearly every touch; CAP managed two tough mid-range jumpers, but received little help from his cohorts. In the third frame, Towns chipped in five, Anunoby went scoreless, and New York mustered just 22 points, heading into the fourth down 91–75.
The Knicks needed a shot of adrenaline and got it from Alvarado. He found Shamet for a three, slipped a pass to Towns for a cut-and-finish dunk, and buried a three of his own to spark an 8–0 run that forced a Houston timeout and cut the deficit to six. Brunson drew a charge on the next trip, and Towns powered to the rim to make it a two-point game with three minutes left. After Eason answered with a hook, Brunson calmly knocked down a 9-footer to keep it tight.
Alvarado wasn’t done. He picked off a pass and finished a tough layup, then came up with another steal (his fourth steal of the night) that led to a Brunson layup. Tie game, 1:30 left. Brunson wasn’t done, either—he drew his third charge of the night on Durant, then hit a pull-up. Two-point lead, 30 seconds left. Durant missed from mid-range, Smith missed from three, and Towns secured the rebound.
OG Anunoby made two free throws with six seconds to go. Out of a timeout, Durant struck from 25’ to make it a one-point game. Two seconds left. Shamet was fouled, made one of two, and KD missed from midcourt as the buzzer buzzed. Ballgame!
Up Next
Matthew Miranda is up next with a radical recap. On to Chicago our heroes go for a tilt tomorrow night. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
* Should be one more, but the NBA Cup Final was merely a scrimmage.
