Los Angeles - Little Nate Robinson stepped up in the nick of time, and the New York Knicks walked away with their biggest come- from-behind victory of the season.

Robinson scored 13 of his 19 points in the final quarter, rallying the Knicks past the visiting Yao Ming-less Houston Rockets 104-98 on Monday night,

"The main thing about this team is that we're a tough bunch of dudes and winning is something we love to do," the five-foot-7 (1.7- metre) Robinson said. "The ball finds energy and we decided we're going to play hard and play together."

The Knicks were 0-21 when trailing after three quarters. However, Robinson took over the offence down the stretch, and the hosts clamped down on the defence, outscoring the Rockets 30-18 in the final frame for the breakthrough win.

"For once we started the fourth quarter down and we won the game," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "That's one little baby step."

Wilson Chandler had 18 points off the bench, David Lee collected 17 with 13 rebounds, while Chris Duhon finished with 12 points and 11 assists for New York (19-25), which beat Houston for the first time in the last nine meetings since November 18, 2004.

"It was a big victory against a good Houston team," Lee said. "We were down by nine with about eight to go and we came together."

Tracy McGrady led Houston with 20 points on an icy 7-of-20 shooting.

Carl Landry added 16, while Argentine Luis Scola also had 16 points along with 14 rebounds in place of Yao Ming, who missed his second straight game with a sore right knee.

"We said it wasn't going to be easy and we played into their hands tonight," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said.

"We didn't play well as a team and we didn't move the ball.

"We have to be in an aggressive mode and we didn't attack. We didn't do enough to win the game."

Houston led 89-80 with just under eight minutes remaining but went cold, missing 15 of their last 19 shots.

Meanwhile, Robinson heated up the Knicks with nine points in a 17- 6 run.

Chandler added the final five, including the three-pointer with 2:20 left, giving the hosts the lead for the first time in the second half at 97-96.

Trailing 101-98, the Rockets had opportunities to square the score, but McGrady missed two three-pointers in the final 40 seconds. The second fell well short. Scola grabbed the miss under the basket, but blew the layup.

He grabbed his own miss, but Robinson stripped him of the ball, and the frustrated Argentine committed a foul. Robinson sank both free throws with 19 seconds left, opening up a 103-98 advantage.

After Houston's Ron Artest (11 points) misfired a three-pointer, Chandler made one-of-two free throws to complete the Knicks' sixth win in the last seven home games.

Elsewhere:

New Orleans Hornets 101, Philadelphia 76ers 86

Chris Paul recorded his fifth triple-double of the season, with 27 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals, as the host Hornets handed the Sixers just their second loss in the last 10 games.

Serbian sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic added 26 points, including six of New Orleans' (27-14) 14 three-pointers.

Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia (21-22) with 22 points, and Andre Miller added 19.

Phoenix Suns 103, Washington Wizards 87

Shaquille O'Neal scored 29 points, including nine-of-10 from the free throw line, and the Suns split their six-game road trip.

Amare Stoudemire had 22 points with 15 rebounds for Phoenix (25- 18), while Steve Nash chipped in with 14 points and 15 assists.

Caron Butler scored 28 points, and Antawn Jamison had 27 with 13 rebounds for Washington (9-35), which dropped into the league cellar with its 10th loss in 12 games.

Miami Heat 95, Atlanta Hawks 79

League top scorer Dwyane Wade poured in 35 points, and the Heat held the Hawks to a franchise-low 27 first-half points en route to the home victory.

Minnesota Timberwolves 90, Milwaukee Bucks 83

Al Jefferson had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Ryan Gomes added 22 points, and the Timberwolves beat the Bucks in their first game since Milwaukee lost All-Star guard Michael Redd to a season-ending knee injury on Saturday night.

Ramon Sessions, filling in for Redd, led Milwaukee (22-26) had 18 points.

Oklahoma City Thunder 94, New Jersey Nets 85

Kevin Durant scored half of his 18 points in the game-breaking 31- 14 third quarter, and the Thunder (10-25) shut down Nets stars Vince Carter and Devin Harris to escape the league basement.

Brook Lopez scored 18 for the visiting Nets (20-25), but Carter and Harris, averaging a combined 42 points, teamed for just 18.

Portland Trail Blazers 113, LA Clippers 88

Brandon Roy poured in 33 points, Travis Outlaw had 16 of his 20 off the bench in a game-breaking 36-15 fourth quarter and the visiting Trail Blazers shot a sizzling 58 per cent to sink the struggling Clippers.

Al Thornton scored 23, Steve Novak had a career-best 21 for the Clippers (10-34) who lost for the 16th time in 18 games. (dpa)