HOUSTON — The depleted Knicks needed to salvage at least one win following a disastrous first two games in Texas, and they ended 2022 Saturday night on a positive note.

Despite the continued absence of injured starters Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett, coach Tom Thibodeau’s slumping team halted its five-game losing streak with a 108-88 New Year’s Eve victory over the rebuilding Rockets at Toyota Center.

“It’s the nature of the league, you win eight in a row, then you have some tough losses, last-possession type losses. That’s all part of it,” Thibodeau said referring to a late collapse and loss in overtime Tuesday in Dallas and another loss Thursday in San Antonio. “It’s not what happens to you. It’s how you respond to what happens to you.

“We took a haymaker. It stings. Then you’ve got to bounce back.”

Julius Randle notched a game-high 35 points with 12 rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley scored 27 points with seven assists as the Knicks nudged back above .500 at 19-18. Houston-area native Quentin Grimes contributed 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting in his first NBA game in his hometown.

Kevin Porter Jr. netted 23 points and Jalen Green had 16 for the Rockets (10-26), the team with the worst record in the Western Conference.

“I had a feeling waking up today that things would start to turn around,” Randle said. “So hopefully we can keep this going.”

Grimes didn’t get a chance to play in Houston as a rookie during the Knicks’ only visit here last December due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, but he has fully entrenched himself, starting 19 of their last 20 games. The lone game he missed over that stretch was a home loss to the Raptors on Dec. 21 due to a sprained ankle.

Grimes, who grew up in nearby The Woodlands and played two collegiate seasons at the University of Houston, said he had about 40 family members and friends in attendance.

“It was great. I missed the game last year because I had COVID, so I knew coming into this season this game was circled on my calendar the whole season,” Grimes said. “I got to play in front of my friends and family who hadn’t seen me in an NBA jersey yet. So it was great, a lot of emotions for sure.”

On Dec. 13, 2021, with RJ Barrett in the NBA health and safety protocols, Grimes enjoyed a breakout game against the Bucks, with 27 points in 40 minutes and a Knicks rookie record of seven 3-pointers. But Grimes also ended up in the COVID-19 protocols the following day and missed the next several games — including what would have been his first NBA appearance in Houston on Dec. 16, 2021.

Both Brunson (sore right hip) and Barrett (lacerated right index finger) were out of the lineup Thursday, and the 22-year-old Grimes shot just 1-for-10 from the floor and scored nine points against the Spurs, one game after he registered a career-high 33 points in the overtime loss to the Mavericks.

Grimes came out firing Saturday night, scoring seven points in the first four minutes, though they were his only points of the first half.

The Knicks trailed by nine midway through the second quarter, but closed the half on an 18-5 run to take a 53-49 lead into intermission, despite hitting just six of 25 attempts from 3-point range and shooting 34.9 percent from the floor overall through two quarters.

Randle, who netted 41 points in the loss at San Antonio, had 21 at halftime against the Rockets, and went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line.

Eight quick points by Quickley, including two long-distance buckets, pushed the Knicks’ lead to 10 early in the third. And Grimes’ baseline dunk extended the cushion to 14 with just under three minutes remaining before the Knicks carried an 82-70 lead into the final period.

“I just wanted to win more than anything,” Grimes said. “Not just because I was back home, but just because we were in a funk a little bit, a five-game losing streak, and just to end the year on a good note for when we go back home, kind of get on a run, hopefully.”