Kevin Martin scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures and the host Houston Rockets cruised past the suddenly slumping New York Knicks, 104-89, on Wednesday night.

Kyle Lowry added 18 points for Houston (20-23), which took a lead in the opening minutes and never trailed on the way to its third straight victory. New York has lost four straight games.

The Rockets led, 36-27, after the first quarter. The Knicks (22-19) stayed within striking most of the game until Martin buried a 3-pointer with 5:30 to play to extend the lead to 96-83. New York got no closer
thereafter.

Amar’e Stoudemire scored 25 points for the Knicks, who have lost six of their last eight road games and visit league-leading San Antonio on Friday and Northwest Division-leading Oklahoma City the following night. The two teams are a combined 37-8 at home this season.

Luis Scola and Chase Budinger each had 13 points and eight rebounds for Houston. Raymond Felton scored 14 points for New York.