The New York Knicks (42-33, 20-17 Home), one of the NBA’s top shooting defenses, welcome the Houston Rockets (18-57, 6-31 Away) on Monday. Houston is playing on back-to-back days after losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-91 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse yesterday, their fifth consecutive loss.
Jalen Green had a standout performance in the loss with 30 points. The Rockets are 15th in the Western Conference. New York lost their third in a row on Thursday at Amway Center, falling to the Orlando Magic 111-106. Quentin Grimes had 25 points and six assists in defeat to lead the team. The Knicks are fifth in the Eastern Conference.
It’s the final meeting of the season between the teams. New York will be pursuing a season sweep against Houston after triumphing in the only prior meeting 108-88 at Toyota Center in December 2022, their sixth straight head-to-head victory. Julius Randle led the Knicks with 35 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists.
Kevin Porter Jr. had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in defeat. Green is averaging 22.1 points per game to lead the Rockets in scoring this season. Meanwhile, Alperen Sengun is grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game, and Porter Jr. is dishing 5.9 assists.
Randle (25.4 ppg) and Jalen Brunson (23.8) have supplied much of the Knicks’ offense. Randle also has collected 10.1 rebounds per game, eighth-most in the league, while Brunson has distributed 6.2 assists per game.
Holding opponents to only 45.9% from the field, the Knicks are one of the toughest FG% defenses in the NBA (3rd). The Rockets are 7-3 in the last 10 visits to Madison Square Garden. Houston is looking to avoid a fifth straight loss on the road this season.
Meanwhile, the Rockets are 2-10 this season when playing on consecutive nights and 0-6 in such games against rested opponents. The Knicks are 1-2 with a rest advantage.
In the last 10 games, Houston is 3-7 with an average margin of -9.1 (112.0-121.1). New York has a 4-6 record over the last 10, allowing 117.2 points per game on average while scoring only 115.9 (-1.3 margin).
ROCKETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Tari Eason: 22.0 | 16.2 | +5.8
Jae’Sean Tate: 7.0 | 15.6 | -8.6
Rebounds per game:
Tari Eason: 7.4 | 5.9 | +1.5
KNICKS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Rebounds per game:
Julius Randle: 7.2 | 10.1 | -2.9
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
NY Knicks -13.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
