Rockets 97, Knicks 84: New York Has Lost Nine Of 10

The reeling New York Knicks continued to stumble Saturday night, losing to the Houston Rockets, 87-84.

New York was without Carmelo Anthony for the second straight contest due to a litany of ailments. Amare Stoudemire scored a team-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds and Tyson Chandler added 14 points and 11 boards in the Knicks’ third straight loss. They have dropped nine of 10 overall.

“The thing about this stretch right here is it’s something you don’t want to get used to,” said Stoudemire. “Losing is definitely not something that we set out to do, it was a whole different game plan for us this season.”

Anthony also missed Friday’s 99-89 loss at the Heat while dealing with thumb, wrist and ankle issues. The staggering Knicks are just 7-13 this season.

Chase Budinger had 19 points and Goran Dragic added 16 for Houston. Thw Rockets played without leading scorer Kevin Martin, out with a foot injury,

“We’ve got good depth,” said Rockets coach Kevin McHale. “Those guys (the bench) can play basketball.”

— Sports Network contributed to this report