Game 32: Mental Errors. Again.

Game 32: New York Knicks v Houston Rockets (Review)

Actual Score: 100-102

By: Malcolm Merritt

Email: mjmerritt23@gmail.com

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The New York Knicks (10-22) were looking to make it two in a row against the Houston Rockets (22-13). New York was looking to win in Houston for the first time in 8 years, dating back to the days of Jamal Crawford. Their plan didn’t turn out too well as they lost a close one 102-100. James Harden scored 37 points, as the Rockets were able to defeat the struggling club off of mental errors.

Disappointment was all over New York's faces as J.R. Smith threw away the game. 

New York had the game, and could’ve sent it to overtime. In a game that was close throughout, with many lead changes and ties, the Knicks had the ball off of an offensive rebound with 17.6 seconds left. The shot clock was turned off and inexplicably J.R. Smith shot the three and missed. Beno Udrih was subsequently called for a reaching foul, which sent Aaron Brooks to the free throw line; giving Houston the final two point lead.

Up to that point, J.R. Smith had shot 1-7 from beyond the three-point line. After the loss, the former Sixth Man of the Year talked to the media about his error that cost his team the game. “That’s bad basketball IQ on me…Honestly, I thought we were down two. I shot the ball, I started hearing Tyson saying ‘no, no, no, don’t take a shot.’ But by that time it was already released.”

This is eerily reminiscent of when Andrea Bargnani took a shot similar to that which allowed the Milwaukee Bucks (7-25) to send the game to Double Overtime. The Knicks need every win they could get and they simply cannot throw away games that they could win. It was their last game of the season series as the Rockets swept them.

Tyson Chandler gave New York a double-double effort, 13 points, and 11 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Iman Shumpert led New York in scoring with 26 points and continued his brilliance, shooting six for six from three-point range. This is only a night after setting his career high in points. He added 5 assists and 4 rebounds to his totals. Toure’ Murry proved to be more of a distributor in the contest with 4 assists in his 14 minutes on the floor.

The former Knicks phenom, Jeremy Lin, scored all 14 of his points in the first half but was benched the entire fourth quarter for what seemed like defensive purposes. Dwight Howard played one of his best games against the Knicks in recent memory with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

With somewhat consistent play, New York can take the performances from their last two games into Dallas on Sunday. The Knicks can keep their playoff hopes alive as they are only 3 games out of the 8^th seed in the East, which is currently held by the Charlotte Bobcats (14-20).