Rockets vs. Knicks Takeaways: Fatigue, Subpar Defense Led To Immanuel Quickley's Career Night
The Houston Rockets dropped their sixth straight game Monday night in a 137-115 loss to the New York Knicks. Here are three takeaways as the Rockets losing streak against the Knicks reached an all-time high seven.
The Rockets ran out of gas in the second half:
The 22-point defeat does not justify how competitive the Rockets were against the Knicks for three quarters.
Houston entered the second quarter trailing New York 36-33. And by halftime, the Rockets were down by five (66-61) after overcoming an early 10-point deficit in the second period.
The Rockets came into Madison Square Garden with energy on the second night of a back-to-back. But Houston's fatigue began to show mid-way through the third quarter.
The Rockets went from a team down eight with 9 minutes and 26 seconds left in the third to facing a 35-point deficit at the 4:11 mark of the fourth quarter. Coach Stephen Silas credited a portion of Houston's blowout loss to fatigue.
"The energy did wane in the second half," Silas said. "I could see guys were tired. I saw it in their body language. But That's the NBA. We were hyped up at the beginning of the game. But the back-to-back caught up to us."
Another 40-point performance given up by the Rockets:
Houston may have run out of gas during the fourth quarter. But the Rockets' subpar defense played the most significant role in why the team is 0-4 on their current five-game road trip.
"The defensive part wasn't a priority — we need to do better and try harder," Silas said. "It was just disappointing."
Houston allowed New York to score 62 points in the paint en route to shooting 58.1 percent from the field. And Immanuel Quickley was the biggest beneficiary from the Rockets' subpar defense.
Quickley started in place of Jalen Brunson and scored a career-high 40 points on an efficient 14-for-18 shooting from the floor. He became the 14th player this season to score 40 or more points against the Rockets.
"When we started the game, we let Quickley get off to a good start — that's on me," Kevin Porter Jr. said. "We are in the NBA, so once a player gets into a rhythm like that, it is hard to stop them. I gotta do better from the start."
A bounce-back performance by Kevin Porter Jr.:
Kevin Porter Jr. did not have a great outing in his return to Cleveland on Sunday, but he had a better performance 24 hours later. Porter finished with a team-best 26 points on 8-for-4 shooting, 3-for-7 from behind the arc. He had a slow start to the game but scored 15 points during the second half.
Best performance:
Jabari Smith Jr. did not lead the team in scoring, but he had the most impactful performance. In his first game inside Madison Square Garden, Smith recorded his 13th career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also set a career-high in assists with six, marking his best all-around performance as a rookie.
Worst performance:
Except for the final 14 minutes, every player who stepped onto the court for the Rockets played a solid game, including Usman Garuba and Daishen Nix. The impact of Garuba and Nix goes beyond what the box score shows.
Final Words:
"We have played and competed in a bunch of games — you guys have seen what we are capable of defensively. We just have to be focused...Our legs started to get heavy in the second half, but no excuses. We gotta be ready at all times." — Kevin Porter Jr.
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
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