NEW YORK – Rookie goaltender RJ Barrett tied his season high with 27 points and the New York Knicks held on to beat Houston 125-123 Monday night, breaking the Rockets’ six-game winning streak.
The Knicks hit the Rockets on the boards and in the paint to make a successful first impression on Leon Rose, the longtime player agent who was hired as team president on Monday.
Julius Randle added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who kept their lead of 21 points. They ended a nine-game losing streak at home against the Rockets with their first win over them since January 26, 2009 – while Houston coach Mike D’Antoni was on the other side.
James Harden had 35 points and eight assists for the Rockets. Russell Westbrook had 24 points and nine rebounds but missed a pull-up in Houston’s last attempt.
Harden missed his first eight tries beyond the arc to help New York get ahead. He made his last two games in the third quarter, then the Rockets did it all in the last minute of the fourth quarter.
But the Rockets, playing without a traditional center, could not overcome the rebounding advantage of the Knicks 65-34, or the New York advantage 64-36 in points in the paint.
TRAIL BLAZERS 130, MAGIC 107: C.J. McCollum scored 41 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 24 points to help Portland win in Orlando, Florida.
Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Trevor Ariza scored 11 points as the Blazers ended a 3-game losing streak by defeating Orlando 38-19 in the last period.
Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Terrence Ross scored 23 points, but the Magic had offensive difficulties in the final period, scoring only six of the 21 shots. The 130 points equaled a season high for points awarded by the Magic.
JAZZ 126, CAVALIERS 113: Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points, Rudy Gobert added 20 and Utah started a four-game journey against Eastern Conference teams with a shorthanded win over Cleveland, who only dressed nine players and used only seven.
Donovan Mitchell had 19 points and nine rebounds, and the Jazz had 20 shots on 3 points while remaining fifth in the Western playoffs.
Collin Sexton scored a career-high 32 points and Kevin Love scored 22 for Cleveland, who fell 3-4 under coach J.B.Bickerstaff.
Utah has been stable for long periods, and this may be due in part to Cleveland’s poor record and the shortlist. The Jazz seemed in control while building an 18-point lead in the fourth, but the Cavs continued to fight and were still 11 with 6 minutes to go.
GRIZZLIES 127, HAWKS 88: Gorgui Dieng had 17 points and 10 rebounds, leading nine double-digit Memphis goalscorers, and the Grizzlies retired in the second period to win at Atlanta.
HEAT 105, BUCKS 89: Jae Crowder and Jimmy Butler each scored 18, Goran Dragic added 15 and the Heat beat the Bucks 105-89 on Wednesday night – falling 2-0 to the top team in the NBA.
Bam Adebayo had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, which went to 39-22 and tied its total wins last season with 19 games left. Kendrick Nunn had 13 points and Kelly Olynyk added 11 for Miami.
“Collective effort,” said Crowder. “” All hands on deck. “
It was the season’s low for the Bucks, established for the second day in a row after Milwaukee only scored 93 in a Sunday win at Charlotte. The difference came from the 3-point line: Miami was 18 for 37, Milwaukee was 7 for 34.
NOTES
KNIVES: Leon Rose has spent years as one of the most powerful agents in the NBA.
Now he will try to turn around one of his weakest franchises.
The New York Knicks hired Rose as president, hoping to be able to sign and draft the type of dominant players he represented.
Rose takes over a team that is heading into its seventh consecutive season out of the playoffs. But teams such as Golden State and the Lakers have managed to outsource their basketball operations to an agent, and the Knicks believe they can do the same.
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