Kristaps Porzingis' 24 points, 14 rebounds, seven blocks lead Knicks to fourth straight win

Kristaps Porzingis is growing as a player right before everyone's eyes, and the latest part of his evolution featured him becoming a closer.

With Carmelo Anthony struggling to score and limited by foul trouble Saturday night, Porzingis was huge on both ends of the floor, especially in the fourth quarter. He led the Knicks to their fourth straight win as they beat the Rockets, 107-102, at the Toyota Center.

The 7-3 rookie shot 8-for-12 and had 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots. In the fourth quarter, Porzingis scored eight points, grabbed five offensive rebounds and blocked two of James Harden's shots. Both came in the final 2:24 and the Rockets had a chance to take the lead each time.

"He put together a really well-rounded basketball game," Derek Fisher said. "The blocks were tremendous. They really prevented them from scoring in a lot of situations. I thought he really energized our group."

The Knicks improved to 8-6 overall and 5-2 on the road after starting this four-game trip with back-to-back wins.

Porzingis was quiet in Friday night's victory in Oklahoma City, scoring only seven points. But he rebounded Saturday night in more ways than one, producing his second 20-point, 10-rebound night in three games.

He showed a little of everything, including a lefty hook and righty hook. And the 20-year-old dominated the glass in the fourth quarter, grabbing seven rebounds total -- two fewer than the Rockets, who didn't have Dwight Howard because he was resting on the second night of a back-to-back.

"The most important thing is winning games," Porzingis said. "No matter who has a good game, bad game. I didn't have a good game [Friday] night and there were guys who stepped up and we won the game. Today, Melo didn't have a good game. But he was there the whole time. He was really focused. Once he stepped on the floor, he hit those clutch free throws and sealed the game.''

Anthony finished with 14 points in 25 minutes. He scored eight in the fourth, all of them in the final 2:18, including three free throws in the last 18.8 seconds to give the Knicks a 105-99 lead.

Afterward, he had nothing but praise for the ever-improving Porzingis. "He played phenomenal," Anthony said. "His numbers, the way he played, the way he covered the basket down the stretch.

"He was very active. He wasn't just standing still. He was very active, Very active on the defensive end, blocking shots, rebounding. He played a total game."

Arron Afflalo scored 16 points, Langston Galloway 12 and Jose Calderon 11. Calderon also drew a big charge on Harden with 13 seconds left and the Knicks up 103-99.

Harden had 24 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. The struggling Rockets are 5-9 overall and 1-2 since firing Kevin McHale on Wednesday and replacing him with J.B. Bickerstaff.

Porzingis gave the Knicks a 100-99 lead with two free throws with 1:22 left and then came up with a big defensive stop, blocking Harden's shot on a drive to the basket.

"A lot of times you've got to be focused and not be late for those situations," Porzingis said. "A guy like Harden, I was really just making sure when he gets to the basket I'm vertical and I'm going up there so I can bother his shots. That's what I tried to do."

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.