Knicks Lose Carmelo Anthony and Game Against Houston Rockets

The New York Knicks suffered their sixth straight road loss Monday night, but it was not for a lack of trying. The Knicks gave effort throughout the whole game against the Houston Rockets, as they ended the game shorthanded and did their best to make up for it. While it is disappointing to start a road trip with a loss, the Knicks cannot be upset with the effort they put forth tonight. But in the end it is still a loss, and moral victories can only do so much. The Knicks record drops to 4-11 with the loss.

Matchup of the Game Recap:

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The Knicks just couldn’t contain James Harden, who wore them down as the game went on. Iman Shumpert did his best, but Harden was locked in tonight. Harden finished the game with an efficient 11-22 from the field, including 7-11 from deep and 7-7 from the foul line en route to a game-high 36 points. He also added six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Shumpert on the other hand struggled shooting the ball for the second consecutive game, making only 2-10 from the field. He did add six rebounds, five assists and one steal to round out his line for the night.

Player of the Game: The Bench

Yes the whole bench. On a night where an unforeseeable injury forced some of them into extended action, they made the most of it. Amar’e Stoudemire, Travis Wear, Shane Larkin, Pablo Prigioni and J.R. Smith all had at least eight points scored to pick up the slack. The nine Wear scored set a career-high for the rookie. Larkin gave a boost off the bench as a surprise starter in the second half, getting three steals. It was an outstanding, collective group effort put forth by these players. It would have been that much better had the Knicks been able to hold on for a win.

Nov 24, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) gets a rebound from Houston Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas (20) during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

– Melo Injured

Carmelo Anthony looked to be on pace to continue his strong play of late, totaling 14 points on 6-11 from the field with seven rebounds in one block in only 18 minutes. But after knocking down a jump shot Anthony seemed to injure his back. He was wincing, and was forced from the game. Anthony was in pain after the game as well, and was unable to participate in post game press conferences as the pain was too much to bear. This would be a monumental loss for the Knicks if he is to miss extended time, as they already are lacking in the talent department and losing their best player would be extremely tough to overcome.

– Cold from the Outside

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For the second consecutive game, the outside shooting was relatively poor for both teams. The Knicks made only 6-22 from beyond the arc for 27.3 percent. The Rockets made 14, but it took them 36 attempts to get there. That equaled 38.9 percent, which is actually an improvement for the Knicks. They too often again left players wide open though, and it is the biggest reason they lost tonight. Trevor Ariza and Jason Terry also made multiple three-pointers to join Harden’s seven.