The New York Knicks (3-3) are looking for their fourth straight win and third in a row at Madison Square Garden when they take on the Houston Rockets (5-3) on Wednesday night.
The Knicks actually relinquished a 22-point halftime lead and found themselves trailing against the Denver Nuggets on Monday, but they fought back and won by the score of 116-110. After a 5-1 start, the Rockets have now lost two in a row after a home loss on Monday to the Philadelphia 76ers 115-107.
Projected starting lineups
Rockets: PG - James Harden, SG - Eric Gordon, SF - Trevor Ariza, PF - Ryan Anderson, C - Clint Capela
Knicks: PG - Jarrett Jack, SG - Tim Hardaway Jr., SF - Courtney Lee, PF - Kristaps Porzingis, C - Enes Kanter
Team stat leaders
Rockets: Scoring - James Harden 26.0, Rebounding - Clint Capela 11.3, Assists - James Harden 9.1
Knicks: Scoring - Kristaps Porzingis 29.3, Rebounding - Enes Kanter 10.5, Assists - Jarrett Jack 6.5
Injury report
Rockets: Out - Chris Paul (knee)
Knicks: Out - Joakim Noah (suspension), Questionable - Ron Baker (ankle)
What Knicks fans should watch for
The Knicks will look to win four games in a row for the first time in nearly 11 months, which they last did from November 30, 2016-December 6, 2016.
It has been over 11 months since they have won three in a row at home, as they last did so from November 9, 2016-November 25, 2016 when they won six in a row in their building.
New York was terrible from long range as they started the season 0-3. They shot a miserable 24.2% on threes while attempting 22 a game in their losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, and Boston Celtics. During their three-game winning streak, they are attempting seven more a game and connecting at a 40.2% clip. Improved three-point shooting has allowed them to score 19 more points a game in their wins than their losses. Against a Houston team that loves to shoot from deep, it is vastly important that the Knicks continue their improved long-range shooting.
It will be important for Kristaps Porzingis to extend his defense covering Ryan Anderson. The 29-year-old performed well in his two meetings against the Knicks last season, averaging 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. That is nearly seven points more than the 13.6 he averaged during the year. He connected on eight threes and shot 51.9% from the field.
History of Rockets/Knicks
The Knicks hold a slight 70-69 edge in the win column in the 139 regular season matchups with the Rockets, the first of which was in 1967. Since the Rockets moved from San Diego to Houston, though, they have won 63 and lost 52.
Houston has dominated the Knicks recently, sweeping the two-game series last season and winning 14 of the last 15 meetings. The Rockets have won seven in a row at Madison Square Garden, with New York’s last home win against Houston coming on January 26, 2009.
