Houston Rockets (46-29) beat New York Knicks (49-28) 111-94 at home on Tuesday, March 31 in a low-scoring game: just 205 combined points between the two teams.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Rockets struck first, taking the opening quarter 37-21 and a 16-point lead after one. The Knicks cut into the deficit with a 29-26 second quarter, though the Rockets still led by 13 at halftime.
The Rockets won the third 29-22 to create some separation, taking a 20-point lead into the fourth. The Knicks took the fourth 22-19; the Rockets held on for a 111-94 regulation win.
What decided it
The Rockets got more from their shots, finishing at 63.5% effective field-goal shooting compared with 48.2% for the Knicks. The Rockets took better care of the ball, turning it over on 9.2% of possessions compared with 12.1% for the Knicks. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Knicks did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 27.3% against 17.1%. The Rockets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 89 possessions per team, the Rockets produced 124.7 points per 100 possessions to 105.6 for the Knicks.
Who made the difference
Kevin Durant was the game's biggest individual force for HOU: 27 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast on 10-18 shooting. His Game Score of 24.4 led everyone. His team was +28 with him on the floor.
Alperen Sengun (13 pts, 5 reb, 10 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 53% for the Rockets.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, New York Knicks lead 2-1.
The Rockets are now 46-29, and the Knicks are 49-28. The Rockets last five before this game: W-L-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.