HOUSTON _ There was no champagne on ice for the New York Knicks in the locker room. There hasn't been in a long time. But the fact that 2016 came to an end might have been cause for them to pop a bottle of bubbly.
For all the strides they made, the year ended badly for the Knicks. They can only hope that 2017 will be a better year _ and a healthier one.
The Knicks were without Kristaps Porzingis because of a sore left Achilles and lost Carmelo Anthony for the second half with left knee soreness Saturday night. Despite an eye-popping triple-double by James Harden _ a career-high 53 points along with 17 assists and 16 rebounds _ they were able to hang tough with the Rockets, but they closed out 2016 with their fourth straight loss, 129-122.
It was the seventh loss in the last nine games for the Knicks (16-17), who cut a 19-point third-quarter deficit to three on six occasions in the fourth quarter, and dropped them below .500 for the first time since they were 6-7 on Nov. 20.
Harden shot 14-for-26 overall, including 9-for-16 from three-point range, and was 16-for-18 from the foul line for the Rockets (26-9). They scored 42 points in the second quarter, including 29 _ with Harden scoring or assisting on 20 of them _ in the last 5:49 of the quarter.
Harden ended the first half a rebound shy of a triple-double with 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. He was 6-for-8 from three-point range.
Brandon Jennings scored 32 points and Derrick Rose had 21 for the Knicks. Joakim Noah had 15 points and 16 rebounds, Justin Holiday added 15 points and Mindaugas Kuzminskas had 14.
In addition to Porzingis and Anthony, the Knicks were without Courtney Lee, who missed his third straight game with a sore right wrist. Kyle O'Quinn sat out with flu-like symptoms.
Ryan Anderson added 25 for the Rockets, who shot 21-for-55 from three-point range.
Anthony's knee already was sore after he banged it in Friday night's loss to the Pelicans, but Jeff Hornacek said he wanted to play. He winced numerous times in the first half and never got in rhythm, shooting 3-for-11 and finishing with seven points.
The Knicks fell behind 80-61 on Trevor Ariza's dunk with 9:17 left in the third quarter, but Jennings made five of his first six shots in the quarter. His back-to-back three-pointers brought the Knicks within 88-80 with 3:52 left, and they got within 97-92 in the closing seconds of the quarter after Kuzminskas drilled two straight three-pointers.
The Knicks trailed by only 114-111 after Noah's tip-in, but Harden was fouled while attempting a three-pointer and made all three foul shots. He then found Anderson for a long jumper and a 119-111 lead with 3:37 left, and Houston went up by 10 on Ariza's basket inside.
The Knicks started fast behind Jennings' hot hand. He made his first five shots as they took a 30-19 lead with 2:13 left in the first quarter. But they eventually went back to playing their porous defense against the Rockets, who are one of the most difficult teams to guard. They spread opponents out with three-pointers from everywhere and let Harden run the show.
Fifteen of the Rockets' first 20 attempts were three-pointers. They were 7-for-16 from outside the arc in the first quarter and made only two two-point shots in the quarter.
