Houston Rockets vs New York Knicks Match Player Stats (Feb 21, 2026)

What happened at Madison Square Garden on Feb 21? The Knicks edged the Rockets in one of the wilder fourth quarters of the season. If you came here for the Houston Rockets vs New York Knicks match player stats from that night, you’re in the right place. Let’s get into all of it.

Final Score: New York Knicks 108, Houston Rockets 106

Top Scorers: Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK) — 25 pts | Kevin Durant (HOU) — 30 pts

Box Score At a Glance

New York Knicks — Player Stats

Houston Rockets — Player Stats

Amen Thompson and Tari Eason both recorded double-doubles in this game.

Quarter by Quarter Scoring

This tells the story of the whole game right here. Houston owned the middle two quarters, outscoring New York by 22 points across Q2 and Q3 combined to take what looked like a commanding lead. The Knicks then came alive in the fourth with a 33-15 explosion that flipped everything.

Team Stats Comparison

Advanced Stats Snapshot

What Actually Happened in This Game

Houston walked into MSG and looked like the better team for most of the night. Kevin Durant was doing Kevin Durant things, the Rockets were moving the ball, and by the end of the third quarter they were sitting on a lead that looked very real. Then the fourth quarter happened.

New York outscored Houston 33 to 15 in the final period. That is not a typo. The Rockets, who had just posted 37 in the third, went completely cold when it mattered most and turned the ball over at a rate that directly put points on the board for the Knicks.

Houston finished with 20 total turnovers compared to New York’s 12. The Knicks converted those mistakes into 30 points off turnovers while Houston only managed 15 going the other way. In a two-point game, that 15-point swing from the turnover battle alone tells you everything.

The steal department was particularly telling. Jose Alvarado recorded 5 steals off the bench and OG Anunoby chipped in 4 more. New York racked up 11 team steals on the night while Houston had just 5. The Rockets were loose with the ball, especially late.

Player Performances Worth Talking About

Kevin Durant — 30 Points, Still Not Enough

KD led all scorers with 30 points on 10-of-26 shooting, adding 6 rebounds and 3 assists. He knocked down 4 of his 10 three-point attempts and drew enough free throws (6 of 7 made) to keep his scoring line clean. The efficiency was not pretty at 38.5% from the field, but he carried Houston’s offense for long stretches and his +15 plus/minus actually reflects how well the team played while he was on the floor.

Four turnovers and a technical foul in a two-point loss, though. Those small moments add up.

Karl-Anthony Towns — 25 Points, Near-Perfect Shooting Night

Towns was genuinely locked in. He finished 10-of-15 from the floor including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the line. His 78.7% true shooting percentage was the best number of the night among rotation players on either side. That kind of efficiency from a big man running the offense through is what separates good teams from great ones, and on this night it was the difference.

Amen Thompson — Double-Double With the Hustle Stats

Thompson had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists with 3 steals and a block. He and Tari Eason both recorded double-doubles, which is actually encouraging for Houston despite the loss. Thompson was the motor offensively for stretches, and his 55.6% shooting at the rim showed he was getting to his spots. The 3 turnovers alongside 7 assists is still a positive ratio, but in a game decided by turnovers it is worth noting.

Tari Eason — Double-Double Off the Bench

Eason came up huge on the glass with 12 rebounds (4 offensive) to go with his 11 points. His offensive rebounding kept possessions alive and gave Houston second chances they desperately needed given their turnover issues. The double-double in a near-upset is exactly the kind of performance that builds a role player’s reputation.

Jose Alvarado — 5 Steals Changed the Fourth Quarter

Off the bench, Alvarado finished with just 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting, but those 5 steals were arguably the most important individual stat in the game. He was the spark that flipped the turnover battle in New York’s favor down the stretch, and his +19 plus/minus was the best on either team. The fast break points that came off those steals gave the Knicks the extra gear they needed in the fourth.

OG Anunoby — 20 Points, 4 Steals, the Silent Two-Way Force

Anunoby’s line does not always pop off the page but it was outstanding here. Twenty points on 50% shooting, 4 steals, 9 fast break points on the night as a team beneficiary of his defensive pressure. He was relentless attacking off New York’s transitions and his +6 plus/minus in heavy minutes reflects steady two-way impact throughout.

Dorian Finney-Smith — 6 Fouls, Major Problem

The foul trouble here was brutal. Finney-Smith fouled out and had a -13 plus/minus, which was among the worst on either team. When a forward who is supposed to provide perimeter defense keeps sending opponents to the line, it changes rotations and matchup plans in ways that affect the whole game. For Houston, this was a real disruption.

The Turnover Story: How New York Stole This Game

Let’s be direct about this. Houston did not lose because they played badly. They lost because they were careless with possession at the worst possible times.

Key turnover breakdown:

• Houston: 20 total turnovers (19 player, 1 team)
• New York: 12 total turnovers (11 player, 1 team)
• New York scored 30 points off Houston turnovers
• Houston scored 15 points off New York turnovers

That 15-point net advantage for the Knicks out of pure ball security is the entire margin of the game and then some. The Rockets actually had the better rebounding night (57 to 36, which is a significant gap), better paint presence, and a higher efficiency score (117 to 113). On paper this was Houston’s game to win. On the scoreboard, the turnovers decided it.

The Rockets’ assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.26 versus the Knicks’ 2.36 shows how different the two teams were in terms of taking care of the ball. New York’s ball movement was cleaner, and in crunch time that discipline paid off.

Rebounding Dominance That Still Was Not Enough

Houston pulled down 57 total rebounds compared to New York’s 36. That is a 21-rebound gap, an extraordinary advantage on the glass. The Rockets had 13 offensive rebounds against New York’s 8, turning those into 10 second chance points. But none of that mattered in the end because they kept gifting possessions away.

Amen Thompson grabbed 10 boards. Tari Eason added 12. Even without a traditional center logging big minutes, Houston crashed the glass aggressively. They just could not protect the ball.

Paint, Pace, and Pressure

Points in the Paint: Both teams were aggressive inside. Houston edged it out 50 to 48, with Thompson and Durant combining for 20 paint points alone.

Fast Break Points: New York had the edge here at 23 to Houston’s 14. Given that the Knicks had more steals and turnovers to work with, that transition advantage was expected and real.

Bench Contributions: New York’s bench outscored Houston’s by a significant margin, 30 to 16. Alvarado was the main reason. For Houston, the bench provided solid energy from Sheppard (10 points, 60% shooting) and Eason’s double-double, but the overall production gap off the pine went to New York.

Context: Where Both Teams Stand

Houston came into this game sitting in a strong position in the Western Conference, having won their prior game against Charlotte. The Rockets are built around Durant’s scoring and Thompson’s athleticism and have the kind of frontcourt rebounding that makes them genuinely dangerous on any night.

New York has been figuring out its roster chemistry with Towns as a centerpiece, and on this night he showed exactly why that experiment is working. The Knicks turned a deficit that felt serious after three quarters into a two-point win on the back of defense, ball movement, and a bench that played with urgency.

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Quick Reference: Standout Numbers From the Night

Final Thoughts

Houston played well enough to win this game for three quarters. Durant gave them 30. Thompson and Eason gave them two double-doubles. The Rockets outrebounded New York by 21 and dominated the paint.

But 20 turnovers gifting 30 points to a Knicks team that refused to quit is a hard thing to overcome. New York’s 33-point fourth quarter was one of the most decisive final-period performances you will see in the regular season, and it was built almost entirely on the back of steals, fast breaks, and punishing Houston’s carelessness.

Towns was clinical (25 points, 78.7% true shooting). Anunoby was relentless. Alvarado off the bench changed the game. Those three winning performances were cleaner and more efficient than anything Houston produced, even with Durant going for 30.

If you were searching for the full Houston Rockets vs New York Knicks match player stats from February 21, 2026, this is the complete picture. A two-point game that was never as close as the scoreline suggests.