Houston, the New York Knicks may have a problem.
Despite a second half surge from Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks once again struggled against elite competition on Tuesday night, dropping a 111-94 decision to the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. New York (48-28) has yet to muster a win in this active road trip and has lost three in a row for the first time since mid-January.
Kevin Durant led all participants with 27 points, standing as one of six Texans in double-figures on a night where Houston (46-29) dished out a season-best 35 assists, 10 alone coming from the hands of Alperen Sengun. Towns recovered well from a quiet first half (where he was a mere 1-of-4) but few other New Yorkers were able to follow in his example in another nationally-televised challenge. Towns scored 22 points but others like OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges were unable to join him on the light side, getting up only a combined dozen shots.
The Knicks took an instant 1-0 lead after a Jalen Brunson free throw but that was about as positive as it got for the visitors. Riding a streak of hitting all but two of its first 14 tries from the field, the Rockets scored the next 14 points and launched a lead that summitted at 17 before the first dozen let out. Durant himself put up a run of 10 straight of his own, eating at the Knicks’ fight before it could truly get rolling.
New York’s best push came in the second quarter, as the second unit staged a 14-2 run while Durant watched from the bench. That portion whittled the lead down to four and was bookended by a pair of much-needed three-pointers from Jose Alvarado.
That, however, would be as close as the Knicks got for the rest of the game. Back-to-back three-point possessions for Houston boosted the lead back up to double-figures, the latter of that output being a Tari Eason triple that led to a Knicks timeout. The Rockets created a 19-point advantage before the halftime horn but Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby triples managed to make it a manageable 13 by the break.
But the Knicks never got it back below eight after that, as Houston defended its homecourt en route to a split of the yearly interconference couple. New York had previously worked its way back from an 18-point fourth quarter deficit in the opening stanza at Madison Square Garden but continued sharpshooting, such as an 8-of-12 performance off the bench for Reed Sheppard.
Both Brunson and Alvarado also endured nagging injuries over the course of the second half, both in the lower body area. Each was able to continue though Brunson ended the night with a minus-26, his worst output in a Knick uniform to date.
Fleeting good news came from Towns, who scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, and Miles McBride. The latter shot 1-of-9 but was able to play just over 12 minutes in his second game back from a two-month absence due to a core muscle injury. McBride left his Sunday return in Oklahoma City early after a second half tangle-up.
Tuesday’s loss officially confirmed that the Knicks would be unable to catch Detroit for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. New York is still stationed in third but ended the game only a half-game ahead of No. 4 Cleveland, which faced the Los Angeles Lakers in a nightcap.
The Knicks immediately return to action on Wednesday night, wrapping up their four-game road trip in Memphis (8 p.m. ET, MSG).
