In a New York City showdown with the Knicks on Monday, the Houston Rockets finally fell back to Earth. Down by 21 points at one time, even a furious fourth-quarter comeback in which Houston scored 32 points wasn’t quite enough, as they fell 125-123.
The number that sticks out immediately from the narrow loss was undoubtedly rebounding. The Knicks had five separate players with five or more rebounds in the game, led by 16 from Julius Randle and 13 from Mitchell Robinson off the bench.
In total, New York outrebounded Houston by a staggering 31 boards, including an unexcusable 20-8 advantage on the offensive glass.