Steve Popper: Knicks not getting into groove with starters or bench
The Knicks' Miles McBride passes the ball around Chet Holmgren of the Thunder on March 29, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Credit: Getty Images/William Purnell
HOUSTON
It’s 76 games into the season and trust me, it only feels like you’ve seen this same script 76 times.
But it’s certainly happened enough to cause concern for the Knicks, searching for a formula to get themselves right before the start of the playoffs, but then digging themselves a hole they spend the night trying to get out of.
1-0. That was the last time the Knicks led Tuesday night as they fell to the Rockets, 111-94, at Toyota Center.
With a third straight loss on this road trip that ends Wednesday in Memphis, it marked the fourth straight loss for the Knicks against a team with a winning record, dating to the one-sided win in Denver on March 6. They did handle the losing teams in the interim, winning seven straight this month. But that’s hardly the indication that is going to give you belief when the postseason arrives in a few weeks.
The Knicks led for 37 seconds in Oklahoma City on Sunday and this time the Rockets took the lead 49 seconds into the game and never surrendered it again.
The Knicks fell behind 14-1 in the opening 3 1/2 minutes and the deficit grew to 17 in the first quarter before ending with a 37-21 deficit. The Knicks started the second quarter with a 14-2 run to pull within four, but again saw the lead balloon to as many as 19 before another late push had the Knicks down by 13 at the half.
“Just mental lapses,” Jalen Brunson said. “And things that shouldn’t be happening by Game 75 or 76, whatever this is. We got a long way to go.”
“We’re not going in the right direction,” Josh Hart said. “We’re not trending upward. So we got to figure it out. Three tough ones. Got another one tomorrow. That’s a must-win for us. And build from there.”
How do they get there?
“Completely opposite of the first quarter,” Hart said. “The effort. The attention to detail. The discipline was pretty embarrassing. So we got to figure it out. Make sure we’re all locked in mentally to getting to where we need to go and build on that.”
The starting five took the court again after halftime and it was an instant replay — defensive lapses, offensive struggles and by the time the fourth quarter began, the Knicks were down 20. Mike Brown kept the starters on the floor until just 1:47 remained in the one-sided contest, trying to find something to cling to as they moved on to the next game, but it never came.
“Yeah, I wanted us to see if we can defend a little better, have five guys on a string,” Brown said. “And offensively, see if we can keep moving the ball and attack the right way ... The last few games we haven’t had it. Teams go through stretches like that. We’ve got \[six\] more games to try to find it.”
While there are social media outcries for lineup changes, whatever combinations Brown has put on the floor have had little luck in changing the script. Brunson, the team’s best player, struggled to a minus-26 as he tried to pull the Knicks back into the game, but endured a 5-for-14 shooting night with 12 points. When the Knicks tried to run the offense through Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 22 points, they had no more luck.
It was on both ends of the floor though where they saw the problem with the starts, particularly a lack of physicality.
“Yeah, I’m frustrated with that part because, again, I sound like a broken record, I thought we made strides against Oklahoma City,” Brown said. “I’ve got to give our guys credit. We competed. They came out the start of the game and they felt us. But tonight everything was just real easy for them. Especially on the pick and roll. They didn’t feel us at all.”
And a boost they hoped to get from the return of Deuce McBride provided a 1-for-9 shooting night (after he missed all three shots in his first game back Sunday), showing the rust of more than two months on the sidelines.
“I haven’t played in two months and it was kind of a long process in being able to get on the court and really do a lot at high intensity,” said McBride, who said that the scare he felt in his first game back Sunday came from some of the healing from his sports hernia surgery tearing — an expected, but painful process.
“He was 1-for-9,” Brown said. “I’m glad he took nine shots. I don’t care if he’s 0-for-9. If he feels he’s open, I want him to let it fly because he’s got to get back in rhythm.”
But it’s not the bench that has been the consistent problem.
“We’re obviously struggling right now to win games,” Hart added. “Struggling to start games off. Struggling to focus on the attention to detail. Struggling to get outside of ourselves and focus on what the betterment of the team is. So tomorrow we have to play with a sense of desperation. Sense of being willing to sacrifice. To win.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
