‘Melo-less Knicks lose to Rockets in OT, 116-111

Considering what this Houston Rockets team has been through this season, beating the New York Knicks in overtime, 116-111, on Sunday night was worth every second, minute, sweat and ounce of breath. Porzingis added 20 points with 13 boards, outplaying Howard (14 points, six rebounds) with the exception of that alley-oop jam to start OT.

Howard Simmons Kristaps Porzingis scores 20 points and grabs 13 rebounds but the Knicks still manage to drop their fourth straight game.

The Rockets were down and out in this game, but the Knicks, playing without an ill Carmelo Anthony, let them back in. The Rockets faced a 91-77 deficit with 8:05 remaining but closed regulation with a 24-10 spurt and shot 57 percent during the fourth quarter. Reggie Jackson is tied with James Harden for the league lead in points scored on drives, averaging 8.4 per game…

Trevor Ariza hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:14 left in overtime and Marcus Thornton made two free throws with less than a second left as the Houston Rockets beat the New York Knicks 116-111 on Sunday night. He is scheduled to have his back examined Tuesday and if it goes well, he could be cleared to start practicing for the first time since last March’s back surgery….

“The momentum of the game changed”, Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. Before the game when it was mentioned his team ranks 25th in offensive pace, he said he wanted the Knicks to play quicker. At the same time the Rockets had a ridiculous number of 16 steals that contributed to the Knicks 23 turnovers.

Thomas finished with 15 points, Kevin Seraphin had 14 and Williams added 12 for the Knicks. That wasn’t so. For the second straight meeting they were dominated by Clint Capela, as he set his career high in points, and that doesn’t just speak to coaching but to Robin Lopez who only saw 15 minutes of action tonight.

The Knicks held Harden to 10-for-28 shooting from the field.

Porzingis has recorded eight double-doubles in the first 18 games of his rookie season.

Then Thornton continued to light it up with a pull-up jumper and another three-pointer that gave Houston a 108-103 lead with 3:36 remaining in overtime.

The Knicks look to stop their four game skip at home against Philadelphia on Tuesday. A victory such as this might turn the Rockets into the team that reached the Western Conference finals last season and began the next season with tremendous expectations.