Houston Rockets Fall to New York Knicks as Porzingis Dominates

In a game that featured the two young big men for each club registering career highs it was rookie Kristaps Porzingis who won the battle based on the Knicks win over the Houston Rockets, their first such win in Houston since 2004. His 7 blocks were pivotal in determining the outcome including the last one which stopped Houston Rockets James Harden from scoring with a little over a minute left in the game.

Despite the loss the Houston Rockets played a cohesive game coming much closer to resembling the squad of last season. There are lessons to be learned from this game as the team continues to address the issues that find them sitting with a 5-9 record.

Houston Rockets logoHouston Rockets
102
New York Knicks logoNew York Knicks
107

 

Rockets Player Grades

TREVOR ARIZA

SF | Houston Rockets
B+
10 Points, 9 Rebounds, (4-13 FG)- Another day, another consistent game for Ariza. While he did not have a tremendous scoring game like last night, he did a great job keeping Carmelo Anthony from having a big scoring night holding to his lowest point since the opening game of the season. Not only did Ariza stepped up to lock down Melo, he had a great night rebounding the ball.

JAMES HARDEN

SG | Houston Rockets
A
24 Points, 7 Rebounds, and 10 Assists- Harden came out playing some of the best ball of the season in the first quarter. His shots were falling, making plays for his teammates, and step up on the defensive end. Harden played a great all-around game. What made Harden more effective this game, he did not force his game even when they were down in the second half. Though at game end his indecision did seem to cost the Rockets an opportunity to take the lead back his more team oriented effort bodes well for moving forward.

TERRENCE JONES

PF | Houston Rockets
B+
18 Points, 9 Rebounds, (4-13 FG)- It was not the kind of night that made him a great player, but Jones had a productive night. Alongside Capela, Jones helped protect the paint, and made it a hard place for the Knicks to get buckets. He had a good night rebounding the ball, coming one rebound shy of registering a double-double. His 3-point make at game end gave the Rockets at least a shot of tying things up once more.

CLINT CAPELA

C | Houston Rockets
A+
16 Points, 14 Rebounds, (7-9 FG)- Capela played some of his best basketball of his pro career. He looked like a miniature Howard with the way he dominated the paint on both ends. Capela played with a lot of energy and grabbed almost every rebound that came his way. The best part of his game was protecting the paint every time a Knick tried to attack the rim. This was the second double-double of Capela’s young career, and was incredible on both ends. With more than half the fourth quarter remaining he had already amassed 16 points and 13 rebounds.

JASON TERRY

G | Houston Rockets
B
11 Points, 1 assists, (4-11 FG)-It was a nice performance for old man Terry, but there is much he could do at 37-years old. Playing against another veteran in Jose Calderon, he had an easier go tonight than he did versus Mike Conley in Memphis. Subsequently he did enough to hold Calderon somewhat in check and capitalized on his opportunities.

Best Reserve

MARCUS THORNTON

F | Houston Rockets
B-
12 Points, (5-8 FG)- After beginning the season on a terror Thornton had cooled off in the past few games. As if knowing it was time to switch things up Marcus chose to mix up his offense and it paid dividends.

 

Best Opponent:

KRISTAPS PORZINGIS

PF | New York Knicks
A+
24 Points, 14 Rebounds, 2 Assists- The Future of the big apple is bright with the arrival of Porzingis. Although this is only his first season, he has a smooth inside-outside game similar to Dirk Nowitzki. This guy is going to be something special in this league. His 5 blocks through 3 and half quarters (7 total) showcased how his 7’3″ frame is a factor for opposing teams to deal with that will only improve with time. Although Porzingis had a great night it seemed the goal of the Rockets was to allow the rookie to beat them instead of Carmelo Anthony. His last rebound of the game came with 3 Rockets surrounding him and was the straw that broke the camels back as his subsequent free throws iced the win for New York.

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