Knicks Accidentally Played Role in Rockets Loss To Last-Place Kings

The New York Knicks are currently enjoying something that the team has experienced in nearly a month: an extra day off in their schedule.

In the midst of their four-game West Coast trip, the Knicks have two days off between games on Jan. 12 and 13. The last time New York didn’t play every other day or on a back-to-back set was Dec. 14 and 15 in between NBA Cup matchups.

After picking up a win thanks to some heroics from OG Anunoby against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 11, the team quickly left for its next destination. With a game scheduled for Jan. 14 against the Sacramento Kings, the team decided to spend its time off in California rather than in Oregon.

However, that decision had a major impact on another NBA team, the Houston Rockets. In what ended up as a perfect storm for calamity, the Sacramento Kings are hosting three games at Golden 1 Center in four days.

Schedule oddity led to Knicks inadvertently impacting Rockets

Jan 11, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) looks on from the bench during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. | Justine Willard-Imagn Images

The Rockets played there on Jan. 11. The following night, the Los Angeles Lakers played there, and two days later, the Knicks will take the court against the Kings. With all three teams there in such a short window, it created some complications with hotel accommodations.

As shared by John Hollinger of The Athletic, the move created a bizarre situation for Houston. With the Lakers and New York already there, the Saywer Hotel, which is the preferred lodging for NBA teams when visiting Sacramento, was booked.

For a fan, it is hard to fathom why the Rockets just couldn’t stay somewhere else in the city. However, there are things that an NBA team needs when booking a hotel that make it more complicated than staying at a regular chain hotel that could be available in the city.

As a result, Houston ended up staying in San Francisco. Hollinger hypothesized that they stayed at the St. Regis hotel, which is very nice and draws incredible reviews from franchises.

The Rockets lost to last place Sacramento Sunday after having to drive there from San Francisco on game day because they couldn’t find Sacramento hotel rooms because the Knicks had booked the hotel https://t.co/okGOC7IaZR pic.twitter.com/JILL6KbKcX
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) January 13, 2026

However, that meant driving 85 miles to Sacramento from the Bay Area on the day of the game. It was the worst timing that could have occurred for a Rockets team that has played an NBA record-tying 23 out of their first 36 games on the road.

This game against the Kings was their 11th road game since Dec. 15 and the end of a three-game road trip. The added travel almost certainly contributed to a lackluster performance being put forth on the court, where the last-place Sacramento squad picked up a 111-98 victory.

The Knicks are certainly fortunate they didn’t have to deal with such a nuisance during their road trip. And are hopeful they can have a better showing against the Kings than Houston did.

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