Knicks Morning News (2017.11.26)

Kristaps Porzingis missed Saturday’s game because of tightness in his lower back, and the Knicks let an early 22-point lead disintegrate.

HOUSTON — It was quiet inside the visiting locker room. Players’ heads were down. Some tried to explain how they gave up a big lead and lost to the NBA’s worst team.

HOUSTON — The Knicks already were facing a big challenge that grew even bigger and more daunting with Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter unable to play because of back issues.

HOUSTON — Kristaps Porzingis was on the locker room floor working on his core muscles. A few minutes later, Enes Kanter walked in and was moving gingerly.

To fully appreciate the levels the Knicks have graduated, you have to remember what Steve Mills and Scott Perry inherited.

Riding Michael Beasley could only take the Knicks so far.

HOUSTON (AP) James Harden had 37 points and 10 assists as the Houston Rockets rallied from an early deficit to beat the New York Knicks 117-102 on Saturday night.

Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter missed Saturday night’s matchup against the Rockets due to back ailments.

HOUSTON — Soon enough, the sample size won’t be so small that it will be easy to disregard, and the influence Chris Paul has made on Houston’s offense will be cause for examination.

Enes Kanter (back spasms) is officially listed as questionable ahead of the Knicks’ game against the Rockets on Saturday night.

Knicks leading scorer Kristaps Porzingis and fellow big man Enes Kanter sat out against the Rockets on Saturday due to back ailments, according to the team.

HOUSTON — Hakeem Olajuwon is now a Rockets adviser who has expressed interest in an ownership stake. So the Nigerian great no longer can run his post skills school where he once hosted Amar’e Stoudemire as a Knick. Nevertheless, Olajuwon said he would love to work with 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis, but frankly, the retired Rockets…

HOUSTON — There’s a theory the 22-point lead the undermanned Knicks built in the first quarter was a mirage, that Michael Beasley didn’t actually score 17 first-quarter points. But it really happened — even if it was in the blink of an eye as the Rockets dominated the rest of Saturday night and cruised to…

HOUSTON — On the second night of a back-to-back, Kristaps Porzingis rested. With Enes Kanter still out with back spasms, the Knicks held Porzingis out of Saturday’s 117-102 loss to the Rockets — also claiming back issues. Porzingis said he had tightness in his lower back along with some spasms. It’s the second time Porzingis…

We are besieged with the melancholy subject of “What if?” all the time in baseball, especially when it comes to pitchers. What could Mark Prior have been? Or Matt Harvey, for that matter? In some ways, that’s always an underlying reality waiting just beneath the turf. It’s worse in football, of course, because the nature…

HOUSTON – Anyone who labeled the Knicks for real after a historic victory over a tough Raptors squad Wednesday at the Garden, received a stark reminder Friday after a trip to Hotlanta that they haven’t arrived just yet. The Knicks, now 10-8, could be a playoff team this year — if not for the fact…