Game ID: 22501102
New York Knicks @ Houston Rockets
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 37 26 29 19 111NYK 21 29 22 22 94
HOU vs NYK ScoutingHOU vs NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
HOU availability going into 3/23 · 1 day's restOUT Newton missed 5 since 3/13, out tonight
BACK Sengun back 3/18 after 2, 34 min since (100% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 3/20 after 3, 15 min since (109% of 14)
HOU availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restOUT Newton missed 6 since 3/13, out tonight
BACK Sengun back 3/18 after 2, 35 min since (103% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 3/20 after 3, 17 min since (125% of 14)
HOU availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restOUT Newton missed 7 since 3/13, out tonight
BACK Sengun back 3/18 after 2, 36 min since (108% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 3/20 after 3, 16 min since (116% of 14)
HOU availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Newton missed 8 since 3/13, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 3/20 after 3, 16 min since (115% of 14)
HOU availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Finney-Smith missed 2 since 3/27, out tonight
OUT Newton missed 9 since 3/13, out tonight
HOU availability going into 4/01 · back-to-backOUT Finney-Smith missed 3 since 3/27, out tonight
OUT Newton missed 10 since 3/13, out tonight
HOU availability going into 4/03 · 1 day's restOUT Finney-Smith missed 4 since 3/27, returns tonight: 9 min (56% of 16)
OUT Newton missed 11 since 3/13, out tonight
HOU availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Newton missed 12 since 3/13, out tonight
BACK Finney-Smith back 4/03 after 4, 9 min since (56% of 16)
HOU availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restOUT Newton missed 13 since 3/13, out tonight
BACK Finney-Smith back 4/03 after 4, 9 min since (56% of 16)
NYK availability going into 3/22 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 25 since 1/28, out tonight
BACK Hart back 3/15 after 2, 28 min since (92% of 31)
BACK Kolek back 3/17 after 2, 11 min since (96% of 11)
NEW Shamet 21 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Clarkson 16 to 22 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 3/24 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 26 since 1/28, out tonight
BACK Hart back 3/15 after 2, 28 min since (91% of 31)
BACK Kolek back 3/17 after 2, 9 min since (80% of 11)
NYK availability going into 3/26 · 1 day's restOUT McBride missed 27 since 1/28, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 2 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Hart back 3/15 after 2, 30 min since (99% of 31)
BACK Kolek back 3/17 after 2, 9 min since (80% of 11)
NEW Clarkson 16 to 21 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 3/29 · 2 days' restOUT McBride missed 28 since 1/28, returns tonight: 11 min (46% of 24)
OUT Shamet missed 3 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK Kolek back 3/17 after 2, 8 min since (73% of 11)
NYK availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Shamet missed 4 since 3/22, out tonight
BACK McBride back 3/29 after 28, 11 min since (46% of 24)
NYK availability going into 4/01 · back-to-backOUT Shamet missed 5 since 3/22, returns tonight: 31 min (144% of 21)
BACK McBride back 3/29 after 28, 12 min since (50% of 24)
NYK availability going into 4/03 · 1 day's restBACK McBride back 3/29 after 28, 12 min since (50% of 24)
BACK Shamet back 4/01 after 5, 31 min since (144% of 21)
NYK availability going into 4/06 · 2 days' restBACK McBride back 3/29 after 28, 12 min since (51% of 24)
BACK Shamet back 4/01 after 5, 22 min since (102% of 21)
NYK availability going into 4/09 · 2 days' restBACK McBride back 3/29 after 28, 14 min since (59% of 24)
BACK Shamet back 4/01 after 5, 22 min since (101% of 21)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Durant at 28 and Sengun at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Finney-Smith (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Towns at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Shamet (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-9 a night and New York plus-4 and the arc, New York at 41 percent from three to Houston's 36. Call it Houston 115, New York 112, New York keeping it close.
3/23 @ CHI 124-132 — HOU notes
HOU lost 124-132. HOU shot 53% (49 of 92) to CHI's 50%, 11 of 41 from three. Durant led with 40 (15 of 23, 5 of 10 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); Sengun added 33, Thompson 23. Q3 was theirs, 39-30, the deficit cut from 17 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 102-85 against them. Durant's -18 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/25 @ MIN 108-110 — HOU notes
HOU lost 108-110 in 1 overtime. HOU shot 41% (38 of 93) to MIN's 42%, 9 of 29 from three, and went to the line 25 times to MIN's 10 — 23 points from the stripe to their 7. HOU turned it over 20 times to MIN's 15, and MIN turned those into 11 steals. Durant led with 30 (9 of 22, 2 of 5 from three, 10 of 12 at the line); Sengun added 30, Smith Jr. 16. Q2 was theirs, 24-21, the deficit cut from 4 to 1, but the other 4 periods went 89-84 against them. They led by as many as 13.
3/27 @ MEM 119-109 — HOU notes
HOU won 119-109. HOU shot 47% (44 of 93) to MEM's 44%, 12 of 33 from three, and went to the line 26 times to MEM's 18 — 19 points from the stripe to their 16. The glass went 57-39 for them. Durant led with 25 (8 of 14, 3 of 7 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Smith Jr. added 21, Thompson 18. The hinge was Q2, 24-19: a lead of 2 became 7. Eason was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
3/29 @ NOP 134-102 — HOU notes
HOU won 134-102. HOU shot 47% (49 of 105) to NOP's 43%, 18 of 44 from three, and got to the line 21 times to NOP's 28. The glass went 59-36 for them. Sengun led with 36 (12 of 23, 5 of 7 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Smith Jr. added 20, Durant 20. The hinge was Q2, 39-18: from level to 21 ahead, and the lead reached 33. Holiday was the night's best plus/minus at +41.
3/31 vs NYK 111-94 — HOU notes
HOU won 111-94. HOU shot 54% (42 of 78) to NYK's 42%, 15 of 35 from three. Durant led with 27 (10 of 18, 4 of 7 from three); Sheppard added 20, Thompson 17. The hinge was Q1, 37-21: from level to 16 ahead, and the lead reached 21. Durant was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
4/01 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Durant at 28 and Sengun at 25 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Finney-Smith (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Milwaukee comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 122, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 15 free throws a game; Rollins at 21 and Trent Jr. at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Porter Jr. (7 straight), Portis (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-8 a night and Milwaukee minus-5 and the defense, Houston allowing 109 a night to Milwaukee's 122. Call it Houston 119, Milwaukee 108, Houston by 11.
4/03 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 106, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Sengun at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Finney-Smith (4 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 131, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Filipowski at 24 and Sensabaugh at 21 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. Without Collier (8 straight), Mykhailiuk (2 straight), Harkless (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-8 a night and Utah minus-12 and the defense, Houston allowing 106 a night to Utah's 131. Call it Houston 123, Utah 111, Houston by 12.
4/05 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Santos at 23 and Podziemski at 21 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Ste. Curry (27 straight), Horford (11 straight), Post (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Houston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 105, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 23 free throws a game; Durant at 23 and Sengun at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 105 a night to Golden State's 119 and the turnovers, Golden State giving it away 15 times a game to Houston's 9. Call it Houston 117, Golden State 111.
4/07 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 113, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 30 and Green at 22 a game. One day's rest. Houston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 106, shooting 51 percent and 43 from three, 22 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Sengun at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 43 percent from three to Phoenix's 36 and the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 14 times a game to Houston's 9. Call it Phoenix 115, Houston 114, Houston keeping it close.
3/22 vs WAS 145-113 — NYK notes
NYK won 145-113. NYK shot 59% (55 of 94) to WAS's 48%, 17 of 32 from three, and went to the line 19 times to WAS's 13 — 18 points from the stripe to their 9. The glass went 48-28 for them. Towns led with 26 (9 of 13, 7 of 7 at the line); Brunson added 23, Hart 16. The hinge was Q2, 36-25: a lead of 5 became 16, and the lead reached 33. Bridges was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
3/24 vs NOP 121-116 — NYK notes
NYK won 121-116. NYK shot 52% (44 of 85) to NOP's 51%, 13 of 33 from three, and went to the line 22 times to NOP's 13 — 20 points from the stripe to their 11. Brunson led with 32 (11 of 19, 2 of 4 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Anunoby added 21, Towns 21. The hinge was Q1, 42-28: from level to 14 ahead. Anunoby was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
3/26 @ CHA 103-114 — NYK notes
NYK lost 103-114. NYK shot 51% (42 of 82) to CHA's 53%, 11 of 29 from three, and got to the line just 9 times against 21 fouls committed. NYK turned it over 10 times to CHA's 16. The glass went 24-43 against them. Brunson led with 26 (10 of 23, 0 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Anunoby added 17, Hart 16. Q4 was theirs, 27-20, the deficit cut from 18 to 11, but the other 3 periods went 94-76 against them. Towns's -18 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/29 @ OKC 100-111 — NYK notes
NYK lost 100-111. NYK shot 44% (36 of 82) to OKC's 47%, 15 of 35 from three, and got to the line 17 times to OKC's 38. NYK turned it over 18 times to OKC's 13, and OKC turned those into 10 steals. Brunson led with 32 (13 of 22, 4 of 7 from three); Bridges added 15, Towns 15. Q2 was theirs, 29-27, the deficit cut from 3 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 84-71 against them. Anunoby's -17 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/31 @ HOU 94-111 — NYK notes
NYK lost 94-111. NYK shot 42% (36 of 85) to HOU's 54%, 10 of 34 from three. Towns led with 22 (7 of 17, 2 of 4 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Hart added 13, Brunson 12. Q2 was theirs, 29-26, the deficit cut from 16 to 13, but the other 3 periods went 85-65 against them. Brunson's -26 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/01 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 129, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Prosper at 17 and Jackson at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 17 a night. Without Wells (4 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Brunson at 25 and Towns at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Shamet (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Memphis minus-17 and the defense, New York allowing 113 a night to Memphis's 129. Call it New York 117, Memphis 114, Memphis keeping it close.
4/03 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 114, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Towns at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Chicago comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 137, shooting 47 percent and 31 from three, 28 free throws a game; Sexton at 20 and Jones at 19 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Simons (19 straight), Richards (4 straight), Collins (45 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 114 a night to Chicago's 137 and the line, where Chicago takes 28 free throws a game to New York's 18. Call it New York 122, Chicago 115.
4/06 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 22 free throws a game; Alexander-Walker at 23 and Johnson at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. 2 days' rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brunson at 22 and Anunoby at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-7 a night and Atlanta plus-0. Call it Atlanta 116, New York 112, New York keeping it close.
4/09 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 108, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 23 and Towns at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. 2 days' rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 109, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 32 and Tatum at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. Without Garza (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it New York 113, Boston 112, Boston keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CC C. Capela
JG J. Green
JO J. Okogie
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
KD K. Durant
RS R. Sheppard
TE T. Eason
NYKAH A. Hukporti
JA J. Alvarado
JB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
JH J. Hart
JS J. Sochan
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
PD P. Dadiet
TK T. Kolek
HOU/NYK the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Durant scores 27 as the Rockets race to an early lead and rout the Knicks 111-94
HOUSTON -- — Kevin Durant had 27 points and the Houston Rockets took a huge lead early and rolled to a 111-94 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
It’s a third straight win for the Rockets after they’d dropped two in a row. The victory comes after New York got a 108-106 win at home in the first meeting this season in February.
The Rockets never trailed and led by double digits for most of the game after scoring 37 points in the first quarter. They were up 20 entering the fourth quarter and were leading by 19 with about two minutes to go when both teams cleared their benches.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who lost a third consecutive game after winning their previous seven. Each of their three losses have been by double digits.
Tari Eason started over Reed Sheppard and had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets.
All of Houston’s starters finished with at least 13 points. Amen Thompson had 17, Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 and Alperen Sengun had 13 points and led the team with 10 assists. Sheppard added 20 points off the bench with five rebounds.
The Knicks got within 12 points on a 3-pointer by Jalen Brunson with about three minutes left in the third quarter. But the Rockets scored the next seven points, with the help of two turnovers by New York, to push the lead to 87-68 with about 90 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Durant and Eason powered Houston's big first quarter with the duo combining for 23 points with four 3-pointers in the frame.
Up next Knicks: Visit Memphis on Wednesday night.
Rockets: Hosts the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.