The Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks, 118 - 99, at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. The James Harden Experiment at point guard had been an unqualified success over the first four games of the season, and Wednesday was yet another testament to its efficacy. The perennial All-Star led the way for Houston (3 - 2) once again with a 30 - point, 15 - assist effort that also included six rebounds and a pair of steals. Despite serving as an excellent facilitator for scoring opportunities for his teammates, Harden continues to also put up plenty of shots, recording 16 attempts in the victory. Houston impressively bounced back on the second game of a back - to - back after suffering a 128 - 120 loss to the Cavaliers on Tuesday. Harden's backcourt mate Eric Gordon continues to serve as an outstanding complementary presence, managing 21 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal. Ryan Anderson was just a rebound short of a double - double with 16 points and nine boards. Trevor Ariza took the court despite suffering a facial laceration in Tuesday's game and managed eight points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals in a gutsy performance. Montrezl Harrell paced the bench with a 17 - point, 10 - rebound double - double in 27 minutes. The Knicks' (1 - 3) attack was spearheaded by Carmelo Anthony, who finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal. Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee were next with a pair of 16 - point outings, with the former also posting four rebounds, four assists and two steals and the latter managing an assist, two steals and a block. Big men Joakim Noah and Kristaps Porzingis notably came up small on the stat sheet, combining for just three points, which all came from the latter. Brandon Jennings led the reserves with 12 points, three rebounds and three dimes. The Rockets head south to Atlanta for a Saturday night tussle with the Hawks, while the Knicks tangle with the Bulls on Friday night in Chicago.
["TeamStat(G,'Knicks') has 3 Losses ,has 99 Total points ,has 21 Points in 4th quarter ,has 1 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Rockets') has 2 Losses ,has 118 Total points ,has 3 Points in 4th quarter ."]