Alec Burks scored 17 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, Evan Fournier added 19 and the New York Knicks handed the Houston Rockets their 14th consecutive loss with a 106-99 victory on Saturday.
Burks provided the Knicks a much-needed spark off the bench following Wednesday night’s disappointing loss to Orlando.
The reserve guard hit five of his career-high six three-pointers and recorded four of his five steals in the last period.
“I was just trying to make winning plays and it just happened like that. Shots went in,” Burks said.
One of his steals led to Obi Toppin’s dunk and then he picked off another bad pass and converted it into a three-pointer that briefly gave the Knicks the lead.
“I just tried to play physical. I was trying to be aggressive,” Burks said.
Evan Fournier had 19 points, All-Star Julius Randle had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Immanuel Quickley chipped in 13 points off the bench for the Knicks.
New York struggled against one of the league’s worst teams at home for the second straight outing, but this time managed to take the win.
“I liked the way we fought, the way we found a way to win in the end,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It wasn’t a smooth game.”
Christian Wood had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the NBA-worst Rockets (1-15), who have not won since a 124-91 rout over Oklahoma City on October 24.
Rookie Jaylen Green added 16 points and veteran gunner Eric Gordon had 15 for the Rockets. Jae’Sean Tate finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Houston, which dropped to 0-10 in road games.
“That’s just a team learning, growing and fighting to the point where we got to five minutes and we had an opportunity and it hasn’t been like that,” Houston coach Stephen Silas said. “So I am proud of our guys. We’ve just got to finish [teams off].”
Houston led 89-84 midway through the fourth quarter but Burks hit three 3-pointers down the stretch and New York came away with the win to move to 9-7 for the season.