The Houston Rockets came into Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks. This would turn out to be a very entertaining game for both teams. The Rockets controlled this game early on but the Knicks would battle back. In the end the Rockets would hold on to the lead and hand the Knicks a very tough home loss.
The Rockets played a great game in terms of moving the ball and utilizing the pick and roll. James Harden was effective despite having injuries in both of his feet. Harden would score a team high 36 points in 41 minutes. His ability to get to the free throw line is something to marvel at. Tonight he got to the line for 18 free throw attempts. That ability forced the Knicks into foul trouble and gave the Rockets free points. He won this game for the Rockets and continues to make the case for the best player at his position.
This game also marked the return of Jeremy Lin to Madison Square Garden. Lin would score 21 points in 18 minutes and really proved to be the difference in the game. He looked very energized in moments of the game, making for some nice plays. His quickness really messed the Knicks up as he was able to get into the paint.
He made tough shots in the fourth quarter and helped protect the Rockets lead. Overall his growth as an NBA player has improved over the last two years and tonight he showed a much more consistent shot.
For the Knicks Carmelo Anthony played out of his mind tonight. Anthony scored a season high 45 points in the loss, but a tough call late wouldn’t put three points on the board in the dying seconds. As Anthony prepared to shoot James Harden fouled Anthony, but the referees would deem that the foul came before the shot. It was a very close call and that would result in Anthony getting just two free throw shots. This call late in the game will be talked about for the coming days. I felt that the shot should have counted, but there is nothing that can be done now.
Andrea Bargnani continued to play well tonight and more importantly played Dwight Howard really strong in the post. Bargnani also scored 24 points and seemed to have found his shot. The Knicks have to get the best out of Bargnani and they seem to be getting that as Bargnani becomes more comfortable with the team.
Tonight was really tough. Calls went against the Knicks, but they also made careless fouls. The team seems to be getting closer to getting right, but tonight’s loss questions everything they do.
The Rockets played really well in spurts tonight, but in the end they were able to pull out a nice road win. They will prepare for their matchup with the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
Overall this game was very entertaining and resulted in a great finish. The Knicks still have tons of work to do, but they showed that they really want wins. The Rockets on the other hand are still getting used to each other, but have a great young group of guys to make something happen this year. Tonight the Rockets would defeat the Knicks 109-106 to improve to 6-4 on the season.
Photo Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
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