It was quite a homecoming for former New York Knick point guard Jeremy Lin. He scored 18 point, and had seven assist and three steals.
Unfortunately for Lin, the New York Knicks were able to score just two more points than the Houston Rockets and won the game 109-107 on Monday night, giving the Knicks their 19th win of the season.
Carmelo Anthony dazzled the crowd at the garden early in the first quarter with a four-point play. Anthony spun past the defender and then leaned back and hit a three pointer as Marcus Morris fouled him. Anthony had 15 points in the first quarter alone and set the tone for New York.
Anthony finished with 29 points, while Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith each added 14 points. Felton scored twelve of his points on four 3-pointers. Tyson Chandler grabbed 11 rebounds for the Knicks.
The Rockets were down 27 to 19 at the end of the first quarter, but found their way back into the game on the three-point shooting of small forward Carlos Delfino. The small forward hit three 3-pointers in second and went into the locker room down 51-49.
James Harden scored 28 points for the Rockets, while Marcus Morris added 15. Second-year player Greg Smith scored 10 points on eight shots off of the bench.
The Knicks took a 79-70 lead into the fourth quarter, and stretched their advantage to as high as 14 points. But Houston made the game close late in the fourth quarter and created some tension-filled moments for the crowd at the Garden.
The teams traded buckets for most of the fourth, but the final minutes of the game became a free throw contest. The Rockets hit 10-11 from the charity line, while New York was 7-8 from the stripe.
The Rockets out scored the Knicks 37-30 in the final quarter but fell just two points shy of defeating New York for the second time this season. Houston falls to 11-13 on the season.
* The game was simulated with Camelo Anthony starting. The New York Knicks are currently listing Anthony as a game time decision due to lingering pain in his injured left ankle.
You can check out our review of the game here and read about Jeremy Lin's player rating here.
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