The Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, but it was not easy. The Rockets needed a 61-point effort from James Harden to hold off the lowly Knicks, and late in the game, Houston forward PJ Tucker had a mental lapse that nearly cost the Rockets the game as well as Eric Gordon's sanity in the process.

Here is the thing, though.

PJ Tucker's brain fart was obviously horrendous, but maybe if Gordon would have actually defended Noah Vonleh instead of stamping his feet and throwing a fit like a petulant child, New York wouldn't have scored off the turnover.

As for Tucker, no one knows what he was thinking. Maybe he wants the Knicks to have a higher draft pick? Who knows.

Regardless, the Rockets were able to come away with a 114-110 win. Tucker finished with three points, nine rebounds and a couple of steals in the victory. Gordon finished with 20 points, four rebounds and two steals and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with nine seconds remaining, giving Houston a 112-110 lead before the Knicks proceeded to turn the ball over on the ensuing possession, resulting in a Harden dunk to seal the win.

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P.J. Tucker surrounded by piles of cash.

Spencer See ·

Since winning six straight games between Dec. 22 and Jan. 3, the Rockets have not been playing all that well, going just 5-5 over their last 10 contests and relying almost exclusively on Harden's offense to carry them to wins.

Overall this season, Houston owns a record of 27-20. It will play host to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.