Rocket Blast

The Knicks rediscovered their missing mojo in a much-needed second half masterpiece against the Rockets.

Good morning! That felt nice. Coming up: Quick recap, 3 Things, Play of the Day, Stars of the Game, Tip In’s, and a Final Thought. Let’s get to it…

Game 41: Knicks 109, Houston 94

We back.

In a New York minute…

Even though the Knicks’ starting point guard was back in uniform, the first half continued a trend of ugly games from the past week, with both teams failing to reach 50 points by halftime thanks to some ghastly shooting, and in New York’s case, 10 turnovers. Immediately out of halftime though, the Knicks played with a verve they hadn’t shown since the fourth quarter in Dallas. Julius Randle came out of the gate strong, the ball was moving, and the defense picked up from an already impressive first half showing. With an eight-point lead going into the fourth, it was time for the closer, and Jalen Brunson was happy to oblige with a dozen points in the final frame that helped New York coast to victory.

Three Things

1. Back to normal. A wise man once said that things are never as good or as bad as they seem in the moment. As easy as that is to say, it can be tough to embrace when you’ve lost two out of three and nothing seems to be going your way.

The sky continued to fall in the first half last night. Randle and Josh Hart, the two players who have received a majority of the recent criticism, still looked off, and were it not for some incredibly bricky Houston shooting, this was easily a game the Knicks could have been trailing by double digits at halftime.

And then, for whatever reason, things started to click.

Maybe we can simplify “things” to “Julius Randle,” because as is so often the case when he looks right, the Knicks look unbeatable.

That was the case in the third quarter, when Randle knocked down three shots from behind the arc - as many 3-pointers as he’s made in any single game this season. The hot shooting spurred Julius in all facets of the game, and with his rising tide, so rose his team. New York generated nearly as many assists in the first six minutes after halftime (seven) as they did in the first 24 minutes of the game (10).

But Randle wasn’t the only one who got his groove back…