It was just two points on the first play of overtime, but it seemed symbolic - a sign of where this was headed.
The Knicks had just collapsed in the fourth quarter, their lead disintegrating amid dysfunction. Dwight Howard, the elder statesman in this matchup, rolled off a pick and caught and alley-oop pass, finishing it all over the back of Kristaps Porzingis.
The Rockets were down and out in this game, but the Knicks, playing without an ill Carmelo Anthony, let them back in. And after Howard jumpstarted the overtime with his emphatic finish, New York couldn't hit the big shot and dropped a disheartening one, 116-111, in OT.