Rockets 109, Knicks 106: James Harden returned from a one-game absence due to a foot injury to score 36 points and grab nine rebounds as visiting Houston handed New York its fourth straight home loss.

Chandler Parsons scored 22 points and Jeremy Lin added 21 off the bench as the Rockets defeated the Knicks for the eighth consecutive time. Dwight Howard grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked four shots while scoring only seven points.

Carmelo Anthony had a season-best 45 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Andrea Bargnani scored 24 points for New York. J.R. Smith added 15 points but was just 4-of-16 from the field and missed a tying half-court attempt at the buzzer.

Bargnani’s 3-pointer tied the score at 91 midway through the final quarter before Harden scored the final seven points of an 11-2 run. New York pulled within 107-104 on Anthony’s basket with 1:03 to play, and Harden was ruled to have fouled Anthony before he made a tying 3-pointer with five seconds left and Anthony instead settled for two free throws as the Knicks remained behind.

Anthony scored 26 first-half points on 11-of-15 shooting but Houston led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter before settling for a 53-52 lead at the break. Harden scored 11 points in the third as the Rockets took a 75-72 edge into the final stanza.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Houston has won 16 of its last 17 against the Knicks. … Anthony finished 17-of-30 from the field. … Unhappy C Omer Asik never entered the game for the Rockets after playing just four minutes in Wednesday’s overtime contest against the 76ers. Asik has reportedly requested a trade.