NEW YORK -- James Harden and the Houston Rockets spent plenty of energy trying to knock off the champs. They had more than enough left a night later.Harden had 30 points and 15 assists, and Houston routed the New York Knicks 118-99 on Wednesday night.Were a special group and were fairly new, Harden said, so the more were going to continue to build and do things and play the right way no matter who were playing, the better off well be.The NBAs leader coming into the day with 11.8 assists per game, Harden toyed with the Knicks defense, setting up teammates for lobs or open 3-pointers as the Rockets easily bounced back from a 128-120 loss in Cleveland on Tuesday.Eric Gordon added 21 points for Houston, which has won seven straight at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks havent defeated the Rockets at home since Jan. 26, 2009, so long ago that their coach was current Houston coach Mike DAntoni.Harden also grabbed six rebounds, a night after he had 41 points and 15 assists. And the Rockets got a boost from their bench, particularly Montrezl Harrell, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds.Those guys helped us keep going and then James is James, DAntoni said. Hes really good and I think he can play every night.Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points for the Knicks, who besides their poor defense also heard loud boos for their rebounding and turnovers in a dismal performance.If we dont start playing defense, were going to keep getting smacked like this, guard Derrick Rose said. It comes with effort. It comes with everybody being on the same page.The Knicks were also playing for the second straight night, but only they appeared to have tired legs. Houston quickly extended a 33-25 lead after one quarter into double digits and was ahead 68-51 at halftime.Gordon opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to make it a 20-point game and Harden closed it with another 3 that sent the Rockets to the fourth quarter with a 100-78 lead.TIP-INSRockets: C Nene sat out to rest on the second night of the Rockets back-to-back. ... DAntoni went 121-167 with the Knicks from 2008 until resigning in March 2012.Knicks: New York has lost 21 of the last 23 meetings with Houston. ... Rose and Courtney Lee scored 16 points each.DEKKER HITS THE DECKSam Dekker was headed for what would have been a breakaway basket when he stumbled and fell near the free throw line, the ball bouncing off the court, then off his face and out of bounds. Dekker went to the court again moments later after Kyle OQuinn blocked his shot.HORNACEK IN HOUSTON?Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek, after being fired in Phoenix, interviewed for the Houston job last spring before the Rockets hired DAntoni. With Harden in place and believing Ryan Anderson would sign there, Hornacek was interested. Obviously the pieces theyve added have made them dynamic on the offensive end, Hornacek said. Theyre going to be hard to stop and so when you look around at jobs and they call you and want to talk, that was great.CHICAGO IS HIS KIND OF TOWNRose was hoping the World Series went to the Cubs, who had his son, 3-year-old Derrick Jr., throw out a first pitch earlier this season. On Friday, the Chicago native will be hoping to beat the Bulls in his first game against his former team. He expects a mixed reception from fans. I know Im going to get some boos here and there but its all part of the game, its all part of the sport, he said. Its not going to affect the way I play or how badly I want to win that game.UP NEXTRockets: Visit Atlanta on Saturday to continue five-game trip with visit to former Houston center Dwight Howard. The Hawks have won the last five meetings.Knicks: Visit Chicago on Friday in first trip back to the United Center for former Bulls All-Stars Rose and Joakim Noah. Pau Gasol Jersey . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. George Gervin Jersey . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. https://www.spurslockerroom.com/Lamarcus-Aldridge-City-Edition-Jersey/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. DeMar DeRozan Jersey . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Lonnie Walker Jersey . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Sadiq Umar scored a pair of goals and Nigeria won the Olympic bronze medal by holding off Honduras 3-2 on Saturday at Mineirao Stadium.It was Nigerias third overall Olympic medal in soccer. The African nation won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games with a 3-2 victory over Argentina. The team fell to Argentina in the final at the 2008 Beijing Games for the silver.The medal was a reward for an Olympic tournament that got off to a rocky start. Nigerias arrival in Brazil was delayed until just hours before the teams opening match because of a flight mix-up in Atlanta.Honduras, which challenged with a pair of late goals, heads home from Brazil empty-handed but the teams appearance in the bronze match was its best finish at the Olympics.Brazil will play Germany in the gold-medal match later Saturday at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.Sadiq Umar put Nigeria up 1-0, rushing in to slot a cross from John Obi Mikel in the 34th minute. Mikel, who plays for Chelsea, is one of the three senior players that Nigeria added to the Olympic roster. The mens tournament is played among under-23 teams.Amiinu Umar added a goal in the 49th minute, burying the rebound after Mikels hard shot bounced off Honduras goalkeeper Luis Lopez.dddddddddddd Sadiq Umar scored the third in the 56th.Honduras avoided the shutout with Antony Lozanos header in the 71st. Marcelo Pereira scored on a header off a free kick in the 86th.Nigeria was the sentimental favorite after the team got stranded in Atlanta just before the start of the Olympic tournament. Players arrived in the jungle city of Manaus about six hours before their opening match against Japan.Nigeria then shook off its travel fatigue to beat Japan 5-4. Oghenekaro Etebo scored four goals.It was not the first time an African soccer team had to make a last-minute flight for a high-profile match in Brazil.In 2014, Cameroons World Cup team refused to board a plane to take them to Brazil because of a dispute over bonus payments for the tournament. Their national soccer federation took out a loan to meet their demands, and the team caught a later flight. ' ' '