HOUSTON _ The Knicks already were facing a big challenge that grew even bigger and more daunting with Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter unable to play with back issues.
It would have taken a near-perfect performance on both ends of the floor for the Knicks, without their best player and their best inside player, to beat the team with the best record in the West. They didn't get it.
The Knicks looked up for the challenge early as they built a 22-point lead in the first quarter. But they came back to reality, and were run out of the Toyota Center by the Rockets, 117-102 Saturday night.
The Rockets had too much firepower not to come back against the depleted Knicks, who led 61-58 at the half. Houston (15-4) took control of the game with a 37-14 quarter and took a 95-74 lead.
The Knicks were outscored 88-45 over a 28:04 stretch that turned their 22-point lead into a 21-point deficit. The Knicks (10-9) tried to come back in the fourth, but never got it under 12.
This ended up being a very bizarre, painful and demoralizing two-game road trip for the Knicks.
They blew a 17-point lead against the NBA-worst Hawks and lost Friday in Atlanta with Porzingis. Saturday's defeat was the Knicks' fourth when leading by at least 17 points. It also dropped them to 1-6 on the road.
Porzingis said his back tightened up after Friday's game in Atlanta. Michael Beasley started in his place and picked up the scoring slack. The seldom-used Beasley scored a season-high 30 points. Only six came in the second half.
Kyle O'Quinn had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Courtney Lee added 15, but he had just two after halftime. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a rough night when the Knicks needed more from him. He shot just 4 for 12 and finished with 11 points, six assists and three turnovers.
James Harden led the Rockets with 37 points and 10 assists. Harden connected on 5 of 13 3-pointers. Ryan Anderson scored 17 points and Trevor Ariza 16. Chris Paul didn't shoot the ball well (2 for 12) but he dished out 13 assists.
As a team, the Rockets made 18 3-pointers. The Knicks hit just four. They were 1 for 10 in the second half.
"We just have an abundance of talent," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said before the game. "We're very lucky."
The Knicks don't have such luck even when they're fully healthy. But all Jeff Hornacek could ask from his team in its current state was "just play hard, play together. Just play your game and try to play together as a team, help each other out. Everybody's got to step it up a little bit in cases like that."
Enter Beasley, who has been an afterthought for most of the season. He was benched six times this season _ including the prior two games. Beasley played under seven minutes in four other games. But Beasley got the Knicks off to a great start.
They jumped all over Houston, running out to a 21-3 lead. They were up 29-7 with 4:36 left in the first quarter. Beasley scored 14 points and Lee nine.
But the Knicks were outscored 22-10 over the last 4:04 as Houston trimmed the deficit to 39-29. The Rockets made five 3-pointers and had one three-point play in that run.
Beasley continued to carry the scoring load in the second quarter. He scored five of the Knicks' first seven points and gave them a 46-34 lead.
The Rockets charged back with a 20-7 run and took the lead 54-53 after a Harden 3-pointer with 2:16 left in the half. But the Knicks led by three at the half.
In the third, the Rockets took over the game just by playing their game. They shot 6 for 11 on 3-pointers and took a 21-point lead after Anderson ended the quarter with a 3 right before the buzzer.
