The Knicks had no answer for James Harden in the Knicks 123-112 loss to the Rockets. The Rockets came into the game without Russell Westbrook, but with James Harden they did not need them. Harden paced the Rockets offense with 37 points.
The Knicks kept it close in the first quarter, and even extended their to as many as three points. The Rockets refused to go away though and ended the first quarter with a three point lead. In the second quarter the Rockets went on a run and outscored the Knicks 36-24. They headed into halftime with a 72-57 lead.
Coming out of the half the Knicks had good energy and was able to stay with the Rockets. Both teams dropped 29 points in the third quarter. The fourth was a different story though. The Knicks could not get a rally going and ended up losing the quarter 26-22. This put the Rockets up by 11 and they won the game 123-112.
RJ Barrett was the shining star for the Knicks dropping 21 points as well as contributing six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Mitchell Robinson played 26 minutes coming off the bench and contributed 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while having five blocks at the defensive end. Robinson also had two assists and two steals. With no Frank Ntilikina and Efred Payton meant that Dennis Smith Jr. had to get extended minutes. Smith dropped 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and had seven steals. This was key in why the Knicks were able to stay close with the Rockets.
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