HOUSTON — First LeBron James, now James Harden.
It’s gone from the absurd to the surreal as Mario Hezonja starts at point guard Friday vs. the red-hot Rockets and faces the glossy backcourt tag-team of Harden and Chris Paul.
The 6-9 combo forward has been switched to man the offense and defend Harden because all four of the Knicks’ point guards on the 15-man roster are now down and out. Emmanuel Mudiay hit the shelf with lingering shoulder soreness. Harden scored 61 points in the last meeting at the Garden in January.
Hezonja, coming off his career-high 29 points in Wednesday’s loss against the Magic, got defensive when asked of this challenge since he’s not a natural point guard.