The Knicks (5-6) fell below .500 once again on Wednesday night after a 124-123 loss to the Chicago Bulls (5-7) as New York’s up and down start to the season continues.
-For the first time this season the Knicks played on back-to-back nights to begin a four-game homestand after beating the 76ers in Philadelphia on Tuesday night and it showed early for the home team.
–Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were the scoring catalysts for New York, combining for 33 points in the first half on 13-of-24 shooting (6-for-13 from three). The rest of the Knicks went 6-for-22 and added just 14 points in the first two quarters.
–Mikal Bridges had eight of those points while OG Anunoby struggled to get going and started 1-for-9 from the field (1-for-6 from deep). The only other player to score in the first half was Cameron Payne who hit a three and added an assist, a steal and a block in six minutes off the bench.
-Brunson and Towns each hit a triple to start the game that gave New York the lead, but after taking a 10-8 advantage with 8:08 left in the first quarter, the Knicks relinquished the lead and were playing from behind for most of the night.
–Patrick Williams scored 11 points for the Bulls in the first quarter to lead all scorers and Chicago went into the second quarter up 29-22.
-In the second, it was Zach LaVine who exploded for 14 points without missing a shot (5-for-5; 3-for-3 from three) after scoring just five points in the opening quarter.
-The Bulls expanded their lead to 59-47 and had full control of the game at halftime while New York struggled getting stops on defense and couldn’t get anything going on offense, including turning the ball over eight times and going 1-for-3 from the free throw line.
-Out of the break, Chicago started the second half on an 11-3 run as their lead ballooned to 20 points. It reached as high as 22 points with 3:53 left in the third quarter.
-However, looking lackluster for most of the night, the Knicks ended the quarter on an incredible 17-0 run that pulled them back to within five points. Bridges and Towns helped lead the charge and had 24 of New York’s 38 points in the quarter.
-Taking the reins offensively, Towns continued to pour it on in the fourth quarter, scoring at will from below the rim and beyond the arc. Bridges and Payne did their parts, as well, but it was Josh Hart‘s driving layup with 9:06 left in the game that gave the Knicks their first lead since early in the first quarter at 97-96. A Towns free throw following a technical foul on Bulls head coach Billy Donovan culminated a 30-6 New York run.
-From there, both teams traded baskets and body blows with neither side leading by more than five points. Towns completely took over for the Knicks with Anunoby also getting involved. Towns finished with a season-high 46 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
-Held scoreless for the entirety of his team’s fourth-quarter attack, Brunson hit two massive shots — a stepback jumper with 37.1 seconds left and a driving layup with 4.1 seconds remaining — to give the Knicks two separate two-point leads. It looked like they would be the dagger, but with three ticks left Hart fouled Coby White on a three-point shot and White calmly drilled all three foul shots to give Chicago a one-point advantage.
-With a chance to win the game, Brunson’s potential buzzer-beating two-pointer went in and out and New York was unable to complete the comeback win.
Even in a loss, KAT was a dominant force, especially in the second half where he scored 31 of his 46 points with New York clawing its way back.
The Knicks will continue the NBA Cup Group stage play on Friday, Nov. 15 when they host the Nets at 7:30 p.m. at MSG. New York is 1-0 in the Group stage after beating the Philadelphia 76ers, 111-99, on Tuesday night.
