HOUSTON — It’s 76 games into the season and trust me, it only feels like you’ve seen this same script 76 times.
But it’s certainly happened enough to cause concern for the Knicks, searching for a formula to get themselves right before the start of the playoffs, but finding themselves digging into a hole they spend the night trying to get out of.
1-0. That was the last time the Knicks led Tuesday night as they fell to the Rockets, 111-94, at the Toyota Center.
With a third straight loss on this road trip that finishes off Wednesday in Memphis, it marked the fourth straight loss for the Knicks against a team with a winning record. That dates all the way to the one-sided win in Denver on March 6.
They did handle the losing teams in the interim, winning seven straight in March. But that’s hardly the indication that is going to give you belief when the postseason arrives in a few weeks.
The Knicks led for 37 seconds in Oklahoma City Sunday and this time the Rockets took the lead 49 seconds into the game and never surrendered it.
The Knicks fell behind 14-1 in the opening 3 1⁄2 minutes and the deficit grew to 17 in the first quarter before ending with a 37-21 deficit. The Knicks started the second quarter with a 14-2 run to pull within four, but again saw the Rockets’ lead balloon to as many as 19 before another late push had the Knicks down by 13 at the half.
The starting five took the court again after halftime and it was an instant replay — defensive lapses, offensive struggles and by the time the fourth quarter began the Knicks were down 20. Coach Mike Brown kept the starters on the floor until just 1:47 remained in the one-sided contest, trying to find something to cling to as they moved on to the next game, but it never came.
Brown addressed it after Sunday’s loss — as he has so often this season.
“Yeah, one of the things that we’ve been talking about for a while is how we start the games,” he said. “I thought we started the game better [in OKC]. I will give our guys that. The approach was there the right way. We did some good things. If we did a little bit better job taking care of the basketball, didn’t foul as much, we were in a good spot.”
While there are social media outcries for lineup changes, whatever combinations Brown has put on the floor have had little luck in changing the script. Jalen Brunson, the team’s best player, struggled to a -26 through the first three quarters. He tried to pull the Knicks back into the game but endured a 5-for-14 shooting night with 12 points. When the Knicks tried to run the offense through Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 22 points, they had no more luck.
And a boost they hoped to get from the return of Deuce McBride provided a 1-for-9 shooting night (after he missed all three shots in his first game back Sunday), showing the rust of more than two months on the sideline.
McBride returned to action Sunday night in Oklahoma City after missing 28 games while rehabilitating from a surgical procedure to repair a sports hernia. And after playing just 11 minutes, with 5:07 left in the third quarter McBride dove to the floor for a loose ball and immediately grabbed at his stomach area.
Helped to his feet, he went to the bench, where he could be seen mouthing that he couldn’t walk. McBride would limp to the locker room, where he remained for the rest of the night.
But when the Knicks took the court Tuesday he was given the green light to go ahead and play after the scare.
“It’s encouraging,” Brown said before the game. “He’s fought his tail off to get back. And for him to get hit like that or whatever, it’s worrisome. But he’s tough. And he’s in tonight.”
Getting McBride healthy for the postseason has been a target for the team, and there is a belief that Landry Shamet will be back before the playoffs, giving Brown two of his main perimeter bench pieces back. Brown said that Shamet has started scrimmaging five-on-five with the younger players and practicing. Mitchell Robinson remains the backup center every night. But after that there are question marks.
Jordan Clarkson worked his way back into the rotation, playing well on both ends of the floor after being benched for a stretch immediately following the All-Star break and his veteran scoring presence could be important in the playoffs. Jose Alvarado has struggled offensively at times but remains the most likely choice as a backup point guard, although Tyler Kolek has surfaced as the choice at times.
It’s not the bench, though, where the questions are right now. It’s figuring out how to get the most out of the starting five that the Knicks put together with the belief it could carry them to an NBA title.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.