Kevin Martin led the way with 28 points and Luis Scola added 24 points and eight rebounds as the Houston Rockets topped the New York Knicks, 104-96, on Sunday.
Courtney Lee chipped in 12 points off the bench and Shane Battier collected eight points and six rebounds for the Rockets, who have won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Houston grabbed control of the game in the second quarter with its bench as Lee and Jordan Hill scored four points apiece during an 8-0 run that gave the Rockets a 42-35 lead.
The Knicks got it back within a point, but Martin capped a 12-2 run with a 3-pointer and Houston continued the quarter strong to lead, 58-52, at the half.
The Rockets pushed it to 89-75 when Lee drained a 3-pointer with 10:15 left in the game and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
Amare Stoudemire finished with 25 points and eight rebounds and Wilson Chandler scored 17 points for New York, which connected on only 3-of-16 shots from beyond the arc in its fifth consecutive loss.
Houston | New York | |
Kevin Martin 28 | Scoring | Amar'e Stoudemire 25 |
Kyle Lowry 6 | Assists | Raymond Felton 5 |
Chuck Hayes 9 | Rebounds | Amar'e Stoudemire 8 |
Kevin Martin 9 | Free Throws Made | Danilo Gallinari 6 |
Kyle Lowry 3 | Steals | Toney Douglas 2 |
Shane Battier 1 | Blocks | Wilson Chandler 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Houston | 104 | 45.0 | 6-18 | 26-36 | 28 | 47 | 1 | 8 | 17 |
New York | 96 | 43.7 | 3-16 | 17-24 | 15 | 42 | 7 | 5 | 12 |