NEW YORK -- For the past several seasons, the New York Knicks were lacking at point guard.

Now they have two capable guys.

Derrick Rose scored 18 points, six in the final 3:40, and backup Brandon Jennings dished out 11 assists off the bench for the second time this season to help the Knicks (7-7) defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 107-103 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Kristaps Porzingis poured in 31 points as the Knicks won their fifth straight at the Garden and halted a six-game home losing streak to the Trail Blazers (8-8).

Portland (8-8) received 22 points from Damian Lillard and 16 points from CJ McCollum.

New York reached the .500 plateau just six times last season and not once after Jan. 22 when it finished 30-52.

Rose and Jennings were brought in as part of a major facelift for the Knicks.

Rose's jumper with 6.8 seconds to play sealed the win and his layup at the 3:15 mark gave the Knicks a 102-101 lead.

"I am out there to win," Rose said. "I am used to being in positions where I have the ball in my hands."

Jennings dished out five assists in the third quarter, including three straight at the end of the quarter as the Knicks fought back from a five-point deficit to tie at 81-81 on a 3-pointer by reserve forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas (10 points).

"Brandon (Jennings) doesn't have to score to have an impact on the game," noted Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek. "His activity, he gets the energy going for the group he is out there with.

"I can't say enough about a guy who comes off the bench to get 11 assists."

A 3-pointer at the top of the key by Kuzminskas gave the Knicks a 105-101 lead with 2:35 to play before Lillard's two free throws cut the deficit to 105-103 with 1:22 to go.

There were four lead changes in the third quarter. A reverse layup from Lillard opened a 79-74 Portland edge before Kuzminskas launched a 3-pointer for the Knicks to tie it at 81-81 with four seconds left in the period.

"I think we are a very average team right now and it shows in our record," said McCollum. "The talent is there but we are not executing well."

Portland is 2-2 on this road trip. It plays at Cleveland on Wednesday.

Porzingis had a big second quarter, scoring 12 of the Knicks' 32 points. His 16-foot jumper gave New York its first lead of the quarter at 46-45, and his layup extended the margin to 57-50 with 1:54 left in the quarter.

The Trail Blazers shot a torrid 52 percent from the floor in the first quarter and led 33-28. Portland hit 8 of its first 12 shots, including all three from behind the arc, to jump out to a 19-12 lead.

For the game, Portland made 44.2 percent of its field-goal attempts, while New York hit 46.9 percent from the floor. The Blazers had a 21-8 scoring edge at the foul line.

NOTES: Terry Stotts notched his 190th win as Portland's head coach against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, tying him with Mike Dunleavy for fourth-most wins in Trail Blazers history. ... The Blazers began the night ranked sixth in the NBA in scoring. ... Portland C Mason Plumlee and Knicks F Lance Thomas were teammates on Duke's national championship team during the 2010 NCAA season. ... Knicks C Joakim Noah missed his second consecutive game due to an illness. Kyle O'Quinn started in his place. ... Knicks F Lance Thomas missed his fifth game in a row because of a sore left ankle. ... New York had a 108 offensive rating over the previous five games, second to Toronto in the Eastern Conference.