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Rockets seek success in tilt with Knicks

Jan 3, 2014 - 4:00 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets will try to end a two-game losing streak Friday night when they welcome the New York Knicks to the Toyota Center.

The Rockets lost in Oklahoma City on Monday night, then fell at home to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, 110-106.

"For the life of me, it's hard to put your finger on it. We just didn't seem to have any pop and our pop is coming and going. We've got to have five or six guys playing with that pop, not one or two." said Houston head coach Kevin McHale.

James Harden led all scorers with 38 points and added 10 rebounds, while Dwight Howard had 15 points and eight rebounds for Houston. Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively. Terrence Jones registered a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

"It's just so frustrating. It's not like we don't like each other, but we play selfish sometimes, or it probably looks that way from the outside. We just have to play more unselfish, offensively and defensively." said Parsons.

During this mini slide, the Rockets have allowed 113.5 points per game, while only scoring 96.

The Rockets will be off until Wednesday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers. After that, it's four straight on the road.

The Knicks halted a three-game slide with an unexpected road win in San Antonio on Thursday. Iman Shumpert's go-ahead tip-in with 23.4 seconds left lifted the Knicks to a 105-101 victory over the Spurs on Thursday night.

The game was tied at 101-101 when Carmelo Anthony missed a left corner three, but the rebound ricocheted high up into the air. Shumpert jumped high to bank in the ball and give the Knicks a 103-101 lead.

Marco Belinelli was off the mark on a triple from the top of the arc for San Antonio and Anthony, who missed the previous three games with an ankle issue, hit a pair of free throws to seal the outcome.

Shumpert had 27 points and six rebounds, while Anthony added 27 points and 12 boards for New York . "He saved the day. Some big-time rebounds, some put backs. He's back to the old Shump that we fell in love with," Anthony said of Shumpert.

Amare Stoudemire managed 11 points and both Beno Udrih and Andrea Bargnani chipped in 10. Ten Knicks played at least 12 minutes and all 10 scored in double figures.

The Knicks travel to Dallas on Sunday to complete their road trip.

The Rockets have owned the Knicks in recent memory, winning eight straight and 16 of their last 17. Houston has also won eight in a row and nine of its last 10 against New York in the Lone Star State.