Knicks’ three-game win streak comes to crashing halt

Mike D’Antoni’s Rockets seemed like they, too, might current the town of Houston some championship thrills sooner or later.

On the night time the Astros, their baseball brethren, had been closing in on their first World Series title, the Rockets completed a lesser feat, cooling off the red-hot Knicks in a 119-97 Garden demolishing.

The Rockets have now received eight in a row on the Garden in wrecking the Knicks’ three-game successful streak and tempering the latest buzz surrounding Jeff Hornacek’s rebuilding membership.

In the second recreation of a five-game homestand, the Knicks fell to Three-Four and regressed defensively, however a number of groups will battle in opposition to Houston’s firepower. And the Rockets nonetheless don’t have Chris Paul again.

After some summer time retooling, the Rockets (6-Three) look primed for a protracted spring of D’Antoni speed-ball. James Harden led all scorers with 31 factors. Tim Hardaway Jr. paced the Knicks with 23.

Kristaps Porzingis, off his 38-point profession night time versus Denver, didn’t even look pretty much as good because the Rockets “stretch Four’’ Ryan Anderson.
Ironically, the Knicks refused to budge on taking Anderson in any Carmelo Anthony deal and the Rockets ahead burned the Knicks on Wednesday for 21 factors.

Porzingis, averaging 29.Three factors getting into the night time, notched 19 factors (7-of-18), 5 rebounds and three badists in 28 minutes. In the third quarter, Anderson faked a shot and spun by Porzingis for a layup and received fouled 78-54. For some inexplicable motive, Hornacek nonetheless had Porzingis on the market within the last minutes of the blowout. Houston had constructed a 100-74 lead after three.

With Olympic gold medalists Lindsay Vonn and Aly Raisman sitting on movie star row, the Knicks didn’t dwell up-to-the-minute. The Garden crowd took their cheers after they might, roaring when rookie Frank Ntilikina harbaded Harden into an airball on the third-quarter buzzer.
The Knicks managed the primary interval however Harden hit a buzzer-beating Three-pointer to make it 27-24 Rockets after one quarter. Then it was all Houston within the second interval. The Rockets went on a 13-Zero run and outscored the Knicks 36-21 within the quarter.

Behind Anderson’s 16 factors within the opening half, the Rockets led 60-48 at intermission. The Knicks didn’t need Anderson over the summer time as a result of he had three years and $60 million left on his deal and performed the identical place as Porzingis.

Anderson talked about it earlier than the sport, then went out and drilled 5-of-9 photographs and back-to-back wide-open Three-pointers within the second quarter. The Rockets took 27 Three-pointers within the half (52 for the sport). They shot 39.6 p.c from past the Three-point arc.

The Knicks had been up 30-26 earlier than the Rockets went on a 14-Zero tear to steer 40-30 with 6:47 left till halftime.

Early within the third quarter, the Knicks seemed spent. After Porzingis missed a jumper, the Knicks didn’t get again on protection because the Rockets’ Trevor Ariza spearheaded a quick break. The former Knicks draft decide fed Clint Capela as Courtney Lee gave up on the play and the Rockets heart zoomed in for an uncontested dunk.