Scenes from a bloodless loss to the Bulls

Last night, the New York Knicks (45-32) clawed back from a deep hole to beat the Sacramento Kings in New York City. Twenty-four hours later, they appeared at the United Center to battle the Chicago Bulls (37-40). Beforehand, Jalen Brunson (foot soreness) Josh Hart (sprained wrist), and OG Anunoby (elbow) were all listed as probable. Each suited up to give the Knicks the most complete roster they can hope for with Julius Randle out, but after a grinder last night, they looked less like Knickerbockers and more like Somnambulists.

Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls to a sizzling start while New York managed a paltry 17 first-quarter points. The most noteworthy event of the quarter was the flagrant foul ejection of Josh Hart (more below). Things got worse in the second period when bench player Javonte Green joined Ayo’s party. Meanwhile, a tired New York shot poorly, lacked offensive creativity, played phantom defense, and fell behind by 16 at halftime. New York started the third quarter slowly but gradually tightened their defense, scored transition buckets, and won the frame 31-20. In the last period, the Knicks fell down by double-digits, Jalen Brunson dueled with DeMar DeRozan, and Green (playing his fourth game of the season) rode a career night to victory, 108-100.

For the Bulls, Green scored career bests with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Ayo finished with 24 points on 10-of-20 from the field, and DeRozan dropped 20. Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond combined for 29 rebounds.

For the Knicks, losing Hart early hurt them big time. Jalen Brunson scored 35 points and 11 assists on 13-of-28 shooting (1-of-5 from deep); Deuce McBride contributed 19 points on 6-of-11 (4-of-7 from three) in 37 bench minutes; and Donte DiVincenzo added 10 points on 2-of-7 from deep. Anunoby finished with 12 points, two steals. Isaiah Hartenstein has played three consecutive quiet games: maybe he’s dealing with Achilles soreness again, or maybe his rhythm is off as he trades minutes with Mitchell Robinson, or maybe, like his teammates, he was just dog-tired due to this stupid schedule?

First Half

To start the game, New York fell behind by seven points before getting their feet under them. Playing his first game since March 16, OG Anunoby canned his first points, a layup, at the 8:36 mark. Elbow looks good.

With the return of Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart downshifted back to their regular positions and Deuce McBride returned to the second unit. McBride, the best outside shooter of the regular rotation, replaced OG midway through the quarter, suggesting a minutes restriction for the latter.

Sophomore Bull Ayo Dosunmu impressed, hitting six of his nine first-quarter shots for 14 points. Meanwhile, the Knicks fell behind by as many as a dozen while hitting 7-of-25 field goals. Deuce and Donte hit back-to-back triples to briefly tighten up the score, but New York lost the first 12 minutes, 29-17. Our heroes looked fatigued.

In the final minute of the quarter, Josh Hart kicked Javonte Green in the melon for a flagrant two and an ejection.

In the second frame, New York spun in the mud as their deficit reached 20 points. They played dim defense, were out-rebounded (27-20), and coughed up the rock eight times in the first half. With New York piling up the bricks (36% from the field), their uncreative offensive consisted mostly of Jalen Brunson layups (21-first-half points) and the occasional McBride three-pointer (Deuce swished three by intermission).

Meanwhile, turnstile defense meant the visitors could gain no ground on the home team. For Chicago, Green picked up where Ayo left off in the second quarter. Both recorded 17 first-half points and their team took a 61-45 lead into halftime. How’s your Friday night?

Second Half

Playing just his fourth game of the season, Green channeled his inner Michael Jordan as he continued to slice and dice New York’s baloney defense. Alex Caruso continued to be a nuisance. Andre Drummond horded rebounds. DeMar DeRozan did his usual midrange stuff.

Deuce McBride and Anunoby came to the rescue for the Knicks, scoring six and five respectively in the third frame. Their points and competent defense helped their team mount a 10-0 run. Brunson cut the deficit to four with yet another layup and New York outscored the Bulls 31-20 to close the quarter down 81-76.

Caught flat-footed to start the fourth, New York quickly fell behind by 10 again. Jalen Brunson and DeMar DeRozan traded buckets. Hustle plays by Brunson, McBride, Anunoby, and Precious Achiuwa helped narrow the score to four around the two-minute mark, but Green answered—makes sense, he was playing the best game of his NBA life. Javonte’s steal of DiVincenzo’s pass with less than a minute left drained the Knicks of hope. Final score, 108-100.

Up Next

Point the jet at Milwaukee because the Knicks are on their way to face the Bucks on Sunday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score