Normally one of the NBA's better defensive teams, the Houston Rockets are encountering difficulties protecting the paint and are on their longest losing streak in a season during which they are ascending toward the top of the Western Conference.

Cam Johnson (ankle), Maxwell Lewis (tibia), De'Anthony Melton (knee), Cam Thomas (hamstring), Dariq Whitehead (G League), Ben Simmons (back) AVAILABLE: Nic Claxton (nasal fracture) OUT: N'Faly Dante (Two-Way),

The Houston Rockets pride themselves on being a physical team, a team that bends opponents to its will not through sheer size but through relentless crashing and smothering ball pressure. So when Rockets coach Ime Udoka was asked pregame how his team would deal with having its starting point guard and two of its three centers unavailable to play against the New York Knicks,