With Knicks" Eyes on Him, Lin Improvises in Win Scott Halleran/Getty Images Jeremy Lin had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in the Rockets' win on Friday. HOUSTON - When they came face to face on the court Friday night, it was Jeremy Lin who initiated the greetings with his former Knicks teammates. Lin hugged Tyson Chandler, who continues to keep in touch with him. He hugged Carmelo Anthony, the player he temporarily pushed out of the spotlight last season in New York. He even hugged Raymond Felton, the player who replaced Lin as the Knicks" starting point guard. And then Lin played his part - a supporting role - as his Houston Rockets teammates ran around, and right over, the Knicks for four quarters. Lin's first game this season against the Knicks was highly anticipated, but he remained patient and focused, unlike his former team. Lin scored the Rockets" first points by driving into the lane for a layup after getting free from Felton off a pick. But he was never the focal point on offense for Houston, which embarrassed the Knicks, 131-103. "This was great because we really needed this one," Lin said of the Rockets (6-7). I think today was a big step in the right direction in terms of the way that we want to play. Calling this game the worst of the season, Knicks Coach Mike Woodson said: "This was an unacceptable performance. We had an awful, awful performance. We just weren't ready to play, and that's on me. The Knicks (8-3) played some of the best defense in the league through their first nine games. But in their last two - both losses on the road - they have surrendered 245 points. For a team that entered the game allowing 91.3 points a game (third best in the N.B.A.), the Knicks lacked the discipline and the help defense necessary against the Rockets" pick-and-roll offense. "We just had lapses all over place," Chandler said. I take responsibility for that. I have to get my team, and myself, better. We're getting beat off the dribble, and the penetration is hurting us because they are getting into the heart of our defense. Earlier in the year, we were making things tough. Now, we're letting guys off way too easily. At times, the Knicks focused too much on Lin, who scored 13 points on 6 of 12 shooting and added seven rebounds and three assists. When the ball was in Lin's hands on pick-and-rolls, the Knicks were overly aggressive in following him. Before the game, Woodson said the Knicks needed to concentrate on the Rockets as a team and not on Lin. "They have a pretty good cast of guys who play pretty good basketball together," Woodson said. Lin had plenty of teammates to pass the ball to. Chandler Parsons and James Harden exposed the Knicks" poor defense. Parsons scored 26 points in the first half and finished with 31. Harden ignited the Rockets in the second half and finished with 33 points; he was 16 of 16 on free throws. Omer Asik added 18 points and 14 rebounds. The Rockets shot 51.7 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Knicks, 49-30. "I don't know what their game plan was," Parsons said of the Knicks" defense. We have guys that can get you every single night. We have me, we have James, we have Jeremy, and we have Omer. We can hurt you in many different ways. The defining image belonged to Anthony, and not in a good way, despite his season-high 37 points. In the third quarter, he received a technical foul for screaming at officials after he did not draw a foul driving to the basket. While Anthony yelled at a referee, Houston's Patrick Patterson ran right behind him for a fast-break dunk. "It gets frustrating out there," Anthony said. You do your best to try to go to the hole, get fouled and create something, and it doesn't happen. That gets frustrating. Rasheed Wallace missed Friday's game with a sore left foot. Mike Woodson said that Wallace complained to the team about the foot and that he decided not to play Wallace for precautionary reasons. ... Jeremy Lin lost part of his tooth during the final play of the first half when he dived for the ball as time expired. ... Woodson said a big reason Marcus Camby had played in only two of the Knicks" last six games was that he had not practiced enough with the team. Camby, who missed the preseason with a left calf injury, has 2 points and 12 rebounds this season.