Rockets End Season-Long Four-Game Losing Streak in Victory Over Knicks
HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets ended a season-long four-game losing streak Monday night in a 105-103 victory over the New York Knicks.
The game marked the Rockets' first contest inside the Toyota Center after a winless four-game road trip. However, the victory took a pair of clutch free throws by Aaron Holiday to give Houston their 24th win of the season.
Dillon Brooks got things going early by scoring eight of his 23 points during the first quarter. His production led to Houston entering the second quarter with a 29-22 lead. And midway through the quarter, the Rockets extended their lead to 16 points at the 2:57 mark of the period. They gained a commanding lead after Amen Thompson connected with Jalen Green on an alley-oop dunk.
Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) grabs a rebound away from New York Knicks forward Taj Gibson (67) during the second quarter at Toyota Center.
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Houston's dominance led to a 57-43 halftime lead. However, the Rockets could not sustain their play during the final 24 minutes. The Knicks outscored the Rockets 28-17 during third-quarter play. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks during the period by scoring a dozen of his 27 points.
As Houston's production declined, Holiday came off the bench to help the Rockets reclaim their momentum. Highlighted by a dunk over the top of Bojan Bogdanovic and Josh Hart, Holiday scored 11 of his 18 points during the second half.
The Rockets took a 74-71 lead into the fourth quarter and held off the Knicks near comeback attempt.
Jabari Smith Jr. recorded 20 points and seven rebounds in the win, while Jalen Green finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. For the Knicks, Donte DiVincenzo added 23 points. Hart scored 17 in the loss.
Dillon Brooks stays in an offensive zone:
Since scoring 23 points in a loss to the Indiana Pacers, Dillon Brooks has been in an offensive zone for the short-handed Rockets. Following his performance against the Knicks, Brooks has averaged 20.0 points while shooting 6 of 7 from behind the arc over the previous four games.
Alperen Şengün returns following a one-game absence:
Alperen Şengün returned to the lineup after missing the previous game due to a back injury. He appeared rusty at first. But once he found a rhythm, Şengün finished the game with 18 points, six assists and three rebounds in 36 minutes.
Rockets unable to contain Jalen Brunson during the second half:
The success of the Knicks this season has turned Jalen Brunson into an MVP-caliber player. He came into the game averaging 27.5 points following a 39-point performance in a loss to the Pacers Saturday night.
Brunson had a rough start against the Rockets. He scored seven points on 2 of 11 shooting. Unfortunately, Brunson began to find his offensive rhythm at the start of the third quarter, which led to him scoring 20 points during the second half.
