NEW YORK _ RJ Barrett and the Knicks made a great first impression on their new president.
With Leon Rose sitting in the executive row for the first time, New York upset the Rockets on Monday night at MSG, 125-123, with Barrett dropping 27 points and a clutch bucket.
It was the first time the Rockets lost at the Garden since 2009, and it ended with Russell Westbrook's potential tying shot bouncing off the rim at the buzzer. Rose gave the Knicks' effort a standing applause.
The last time James Harden was at MSG _ in Jan. of last year _ he dropped a career-high 61 points. This time, he was playing on the second night of a back-to-back (the Rockets won an OT game Sunday at Boston) and still managed a cool 37 points (16-for-16 from the foul line).
But Barrett was the hero. The rookie hit 10 of his 18 shots in 30 minutes, including a driving layup with 7.6 seconds left to give New York a 3-point advantage. Westbrook quickly responded with his won layup, then New York's Julius Randle was fouled and missed one of his two free throws.
That set up the final play with Westbrook pulling up near the top of the key and barely missing.
The Knicks (19-42) have won two straight and outrebounded the Rockets, 65-34. They pounded the Rockets from tipoff, jumping out to a 21-point advantage midway through the second quarter. They also led by 18 in the third quarter before Houston cut the deficit to a point on Westbrook's layup with one minute remaining.
Earlier in the day, Rose addressed his team for the first time but kept the conversation short and light.
"I think it was just introductory," interim coach Mike Miller said. "It was just everybody getting to know each other and that we're all in here together."
Still, a sense of stability and purpose was appreciated.
"He's just here to make us better," Kevin Knox said. "He's here to make the team better. He knows we've been through a lot of up and down this year, coaching changes, president changes, a lot of family tragedies, but he really wants to stick with us. He's going to make sure that we get better, the team gets better.
"As a player, that's what you want to hear. Obviously, we're tired of losing so we want to make a change and I think he's going in the right direction."
