Scenes from scraping out the 50th win of the season

In their final game of the regular season, the New York Knicks (49-32) hosted the Chicago Bulls (39-42) in a matinee at Madison Square Garden. The Bulls had the ninth seed of the Eastern Conference locked down, while the Knicks were aiming to secure either the second, third, or fourth spots and their 50th win. No pressure.

In a close game where neither team was particularly dominant—including a 21-19 (NY) second-quarter—Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks with 17 first-half points to help them take a tight 50-47 lead into intermission. With both teams fumbling and bumbling, New York lost the third quarter 35-26 but fought back to finish a fourth-quarter slugfest with a tied score. In just their second overtime of the season, New York fought down to the wire, winning 120-119.

For the Bulls, DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Nikola Vucevic had 29, and Coby White added 26.

For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson scored 40 points while shooting 14-of-30 from the field, 11-of-12 from the stripe, and just one three-pointer. This was his 36th game of 30 or more points, tying the team’s single-season record, and his 11th 40+ game.

DiVincenzo finished with 25 points, shooting 10-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-14 from deep . . . in 52 minutes played. Josh Hart logged yet another double-double (12 points, 10 boards). Isaiah Hartenstein added 13 rebounds and eight points, And despite six turnovers, OG Anunoby was the defensive anchor when his team needed him, finishing with 11 points, five boards, four dimes, two steals, a block, and +8.

The hapless Hornets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 120-110, and the Milwaukee Bucks got blasted by the Magics. What does that mean? New York finishes the season second in the East! Congratulations, fellas! With this ranking, they will face the winner of the Miami v. Philadelphia play-in game.

First Half

While the Bulls were boring, Donte was scoring. La Grande Ragu tallied up 10 first-quarter points thanks to two treys.

Chicago shot efficiently—12-of-18 from the field—but had been outworked on the glass, 10-6, and had committed five turnovers. Meanwhile, the Knicks made 12 of their 24 shots. Neither team was especially dominant, and a 14-9 run by the visitors, led by DeMar DeRozan, cut the home team’s lead to 29-28 at the close of the quarter.

Nikola Vucevic took charge in the second quarter as the Bulls took a brief four-point lead. He would finish the half with 18 points. Both teams lost their shooting touch, with Chicago hitting 24% from deep and the Knicks making 29%. Ultimately, the home team won the quarter, 20-19, and the half, 50-47, but this definitely looked like the last game of the season, played by some half-steam athletes.

New York had scored more second-chance and fast-break points, 15-4 and 12-7 respectively, but had been outrebounded in the second quarter and committed seven turnovers already. DiVincenzo remained atop their scoresheet with 17 points, having hit 7-of-11 from the floor.

Second Half

The Brunson Burner was lit in the third quarter, with Jalen hitting 10 of his 22 points in the frame.

The Knicks skipped out to a seven-point lead, but their defense and general play were sloppy. OG Anunoby, usually as reliable as a Swiss timepiece, coughed up six turnovers in the game. The Bulls tied the game midway through the quarter, then went on a 7-2 run to stir up the worry feels for us at home. The visitors won the frame, 35-26 to bring a six-point lead into Q4.

Yikes, a DeRozan slam at the start of the quarter put the Bulls up by eight, their biggest lead yet. The momentum shifted, however, when Isaiah Hartenstein returned to the game and promptly shoved a Javonte Green dunk attempt back down his gullet.

OG, Miles McBride, and Bojan Bogdanovic all hit huge buckets and combined for 11 points to slash the Chicago lead. As Clyde Frazier observed during the broadcast, this was noteworthy because the points came while Jalen Brunson rested on the bench.

Jalen returned and scored a difficult And1 to regain the lead at last. Neither team would surrender willingly, however, with the score teetering back and forth through the final minutes. The scoreboard was knotted up at 109 with 30 seconds left when Jalen pulled down a defensive rebound, but Alex Caruso picked Brunson’s pocket to regain possession. Terrific coverage by Anunoby hassled DeRozan into a bad shot, putting the ball back in New York’s hands with 14 seconds on the clock. Caruso hounded Jalen through the final possession, which ended in a Brunson brick. We have free basketball!

Overtime!

How generous of the Knicks, who played just one overtime game all season, to give us extra basketball in the last regular season contest. Billy Donovan wasn’t accepting defeat and sent his starters back out for the fifth quarter. His team next plays on Wednesday in the play-in game. Thibs? He doesn’t even own a white flag.

The Bulls went up, but Precious Achiuwa haggled Javonte Green into a missed dunk and DiVo followed with another three-pointer. Achiuwa, whose legs were presumably still fresh, gave the Knicks major contributions in the final five minutes, including four of their 11 points.

When Josh Hart crashed the boards to put back a DiVo miss, New York had a three-point cushion with 20 seconds left. But then . . . an inbound pass went off Josh’s leg, giving the rock back to DeRozan. Normally lethal from midrange, DeRozan missed a close-range floater over Precious and Isaiah. Ball game.

Up Next

50 wins? Only the true believes among us thought it possible . . . sure, most of my season predictions were wrong, but I did call 50! The Playoffs start next weekend, with New York playing either Miami or Philadelphia at MSG. Rest up, Knickerbockers, and thank you for a fantastic regular season.

Box Score