The New York Knicks missed their last chance to make a statement against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.
But the Knicks won’t have to wait long to get another opportunity against a potential NBA title contender Saturday night, when they host the Houston Rockets in the first clash of the season between the teams.
Both teams were off Friday after returning from the All-Star break Thursday night, when the host Knicks fell to the Pistons 126-111 and the visiting Rockets edged the Charlotte Hornets 105-101.
The loss was just the third in the last 13 games for the Knicks. But it also continued a troubling season-long trend for New York, which was swept by the Pistons while being outscored 365-281 in the three games.
The Knicks, who are in third place in the Eastern Conference, are 12-5 against the other teams who occupied a guaranteed playoff spot entering play Friday.
The defeat Thursday was by far the narrowest for the Knicks, who trailed for the final 41-plus minutes. New York got within two points at 62-60 with less than nine minutes left in the third, but OG Anunoby missed a potential game-tying layup and Duncan Robinson hit consecutive 3-points for Detroit, which pulled away and led by double figures throughout the fourth quarter.
“They played great against us,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, who scored a team-high 33 points. “I think today was obviously not as bad as the first two. But I mean, just not up to our standards.”
The Knicks’ standards were raised last season, when they made the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000 but fired head coach Tom Thibodeau just days later. New York hasn’t made the NBA Finals since 1999 and hasn’t won the title since 1973.
“Nobody wants to lose,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. “And everybody is disappointed. And I’m sure everybody is trying to figure out how they could’ve played better to help the team win.”
The Rockets also signified their all-in strategy last summer when they acquired former MVP and two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster seven-team trade.
Houston, which reached the playoffs last spring for the first time since 2020, is in a virtual tie for third in the Western Conference with the Denver Nuggets. The Rockets, sparked by Durant, won for the third time in four games Thursday in Charlotte after they overcame an 11-point first-half deficit.
The 37-year-old Durant sparked the comeback by scoring 35 points — his most since Jan. 22, when he finished with 36 points in a 128-122 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. He had 19 points in the second half on 8-of-11 shooting, including 10 points in the fourth quarter, when he was 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
“I was aggressive, looked to score,” Durant said. “My mindset was ‘I’m trying to go get a basket instead of trying to make the play,’ so I think that’s why I let the ball in my hands.”
