Three Takeaways From The Rockets' Huge Win Over the Knicks

The Houston Rockets faced one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference in the New York Knicks and delivered against a contending team with a massive 111-94 win on Tuesday night in Toyota Center on NBC.

The Rockets improved to 46-29 on the season and are still tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for fifth in the West. Houston needed to prove it can hold its ground against a playoff team, and put together arguably its best performance since the All-Star break. The Rockets have now won three games in a row for the first time in a month.

Houston had six players in double digits in this one and snapped a two-game losing streak against the Knicks. Kevin Durant was the leading scorer with 27 points, six rebounds and eight assists while Amen Thompson added 17 and eight assists.

Here are three takeaways from this great win for the Rockets.

Dominant Start Maintained

Mar 31, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) shoots the ball as New York Knicks guard Jose Alvarado (5) defends during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Rockets got out to a hot start and went on a 29-12 total run to start the game. Durant was cooking out of the gate, and Houston quickly went up 14-1. The Rockets had a big lead on the road against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden back in February, and did the same here early.

Houston shot 75% from the field in the first quarter and put up almost 40 points. They forced the Knicks into their largest first-quarter deficit of the season at 37-21. New York went on a 7-0 run and got right back into the game. The Rockets had a cold streak and were 0/7 from the field to start the second as soon as Durant got out of the game.

Houston went back up 16 when Durant returned to the court, but had contributions across the board during the period. The Rockets were up 63-50 at halftime, and gave up back-to-back threes to the Knicks right before the buzzer. Houston shot 59% from the field, and were 9/20 (45%) from three in the first half.

Durant was the leading scorer at the half with 18 points on 7/10 shooting along with five rebounds and four assists.

The lead was cut down to eight at one point, but Thompson responded with his attacks at the basket. Smith Jr. also drilled a couple of 3-pointers as the Rockets took a 92-72 lead into the fourth.

Houston was comfortably in control in the fourth and kept the 20-point advantage steady. The big question for the Rockets has been their ability to hold onto leads, especially with their recent collapses. That was not the case at all in this one.

Eason and Sheppard

Durant is obviously the focus on offense for the Rockets, but he needs help for Houston to beat the best teams. KD got that support specifically from Tari Eason and second-year guard Reed Sheppard, who went back to the bench.

Eason played a role in the early first-quarter run. He hit a big corner three in the second quarter, and the Rockets got the lead back up to 10 at 47-37. Sheppard made a tough pull-up three in transition. He got up for a slam off a turnover as well. He went on a personal 7-0 run to expand the lead to over 15 in the second.

Sheppard had 12 points at the half on 5/6 shooting from the field, while Eason added 15 points and went 5/7 from the field as well as 3/4 from three. After a massive slump, Eason is now back from beyond the arc.

Sheppard became a force in the fourth quarter as the blowout became a reality. The Rockets offense looked dangerous with him in complete control. He was second in scoring for the Rockets with 20 points total and five rebounds. Eason ended up with 17 points on 60% shooting from the field as well as eight rebounds.

Defense and Turnovers

The Rockets had a total of eight turnovers in this game, including just three in the first half. That was a huge difference in play and allowed them to blow past the Knicks. Turnovers have hurt this team bad against top competition, but good ball security prevented that.

Houston shot 54% overall and were 15/35 (43%) from three. The Rockets' defense was solid for most of the game and limited the Knicks to under 100 points. The Rockets also forced 11 turnovers and got 18 points off them. Ball sharing was great and Houston had 35 total assists.