Minus Carmelo Anthony, Knicks can't finish off Rockets, lose in overtime
New York Knicks guard Jose Calderon (3) argues with the referee on a fourth foul call during the third quarter of the game against the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
The word came down a little less than an hour before tip-off Sunday night. Carmelo Anthony, who has been suffering from an undisclosed illness, was not going to be able to play against the Houston Rockets.
Knicks coach Derek Fisher sent Anthony home and then sent his team out onto the floor for what seems like a monumental task: to see if they could beat a team with a talented roster despite not having their team leader and top scorer.
"We had to adjust immediately," Kristaps Porzingis said. "Our leader and scorer was not on the floor . . . Everybody played their butts off. We just couldn't get the win."
There may come a day when this Knicks team can beat an experienced club like the Houston Rockets without Anthony on the court, but not yet. Despite leading by 14 points in the fourth quarter, the Knicks could not stop the Rockets' late charge and lost in overtime, 116-111.
Despite having one of their best shooting nights of the season, with five players scoring in double figures, the Knicks (8-10) went cold when it mattered the most. As a result, they lost their fourth straight game.
Trevor Ariza hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with 1:14 left in overtime and Marcus Thornton made two free throws with less than a second left to clinch the win for the Rockets.
"The momentum of the game changed," Fisher said. "We had some untimely turnovers that led to their transition opportunities."
The Rockets (7-10) were led by James Harden's 26 points. It marked the first time this season that they have won a game in which Harden has scored fewer than 28 points.
Knicks guard Arron Afflalo led all scorers with 31 points. Porzingis had his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Lance Thomas, who started in place of Anthony, added 15 points.
When your leading scorer is on the bench, it's hard to take any kind of lead for granted. The Knicks painfully found that out in the fourth quarter after watching their 14-point lead disappear faster than your bank account on Cyber Monday.
The Knicks, who had led since the first quarter, were in command at 91-77 after Derrick Williams hit a three-pointer with 8:05 left in regulation.
The Rockets, however, went on a 12-0 run in the span of 2:19 and tied the score at 101 when Thornton buried a three-pointer with 32.2 seconds remaining.
The game was the second meeting between the teams in eight days. The Knicks beat Houston, 107-102, on Nov. 21 but followed that game by losing three straight to Miami, Orlando and Miami again.
Harden entered the game coming off the NBA's highest-scoring performance of November, having scored 50 points against the winless 76ers. That came within one point of his season high and was the second-highest scoring game in the league this season. Only Stephen Curry's 53 points on Halloween has been better.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
