It was a nail-biter, for sure. They needed all 14 available players to do it, but the Knicks (50*-28) managed to escape the Bulls (29-48) tonight. Things got hairy when their 47-point lead was chipped to 36 with four minutes left in the fourth, but the closing crew of Tyler Kolek, Jose Alvarado, Pacome Dadiet, Mohamed Diawara, and Arial Hukporti managed to slam the lid on this one, 1,360-96.
Indeed, the entire available Knicks roster played tonight, and every man scored at least two points. That seems
like a rare feat, no? There’s a no-prize waiting for the statistician who figures out how many times the Knicks have done that.
Karl-Anthony Towns rested a sore elbow tonight, so Mitchell Robinson (17 PTS, 11 RBS, 23 MIN) started at center. The big fella scored four early points as the Knicks zipped off on a 9-1 run, during which the Bulls missed four shots and committed two turnovers. The mismatch was obviously unfair from the jump. The tallest starting Bull was Matas Buzelis (11 PTS) at 6’8”, just tall enough to read Mitch’s chest tattoos.
From there, the Knicks built a huge early lead behind Robinson and Jalen Brunson (17 PTS, 10 AST), back after missing a game with ankle maintenance. Robinson owned the paint with putbacks, dunks, and rebounds, while Brunson kept the ball moving and the offense humming. OG Anunoby (31 PTS, 8 RBS) chipped in on both ends, showing the touch from deep, and the Knicks’ defense fueled the run with steals and easy transition points. Quoth SagaciousNLoquacious, “OGUA WENT NOVA.” Indeed. Anunoby had a monster night and has finally regained his shooting stroke, making 7-of-10 from deep overall and tying his career-best.
The guests couldn’t hit shots early, turned the ball over, and could barely see daylight in the lane. Collin Sexton (19 PTS) hit a couple threes, but his team was a disaster: sloppy possessions, poor shot selection (and poor options, thanks to active defense), and no answer for the Block Ness Monster.
The Knicks outshot the Bulls 56% to 29%, crushed them in the paint (18-2), and forced seven turnovers in the quarter. The lead reached 23 points before the quarter broke on a 38-16 score.
Our heroes shoveled more misery on their guests in the second period as Mikal Bridges (12 PTS) got into the action, and Robinson continued his stomp-Tokyo routine. A mid-quarter stretch made the affair an embarrassment, featuring turnovers by Josh Giddey (6 PTS, 5 AST, 4 TO) and Buzelis that turned into Knicks runouts. Miles McBride (6 PTS, 13 MIN) created steals that became easy points, Anunoby nailed a couple more from deep, and Brunson piled up assists.
For Chicago, Sexton and Tre Jones (13 PTS, 8 AST) provided scattered scoring, but the Bulls couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the sneakers. Guerschon Yabusele, who started the season with the Knicks, has expanded in Chicago, both in role and size. Either that or his uniform was a size too small. If your fly-by-night GLP1 company needs a spokesman, look no further. We mention him here because he made a three-pointer. Yabu finished the night with five points and four rebounds on 2-0f-9 shooting.
The lead reached 41 points, and the Knicks entered halftime with the biggest lead in franchise history, up 78-41. They shot better from the field (59% to 35%) and from deep (43% to 32%), destroyed in the paint (40 to 14), and totally controlled the glass (31-18). They’d committed just two turnovers versus 11 for Chicago, and the Knicks have turned those into a 20-0 edge in points off turnovers. Recording his first half-time double-double, Robinson had 15 points and 10 boards at the break. Anunoby led all scorers with 19, and, for the visitors, Sexton scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep.
The Bulls showed a little life coming out of halftime. Jones and Isaac Okoro (7 PTS) got downhill and scored early, almost trimming the margin to 30. Buzelis added a couple of finishes, and there was a brief stretch where Chicago forced misses and turned them into points.
Both teams would score 31 in the third quarter. The Knicks were playing with their food. Robinson kept controlling the interior with tip-ins and rebounds, while Brunson scored a bit. For Chicago, Jones and Sexton provided most of the offense, with Buzelis contributing scattered buckets. The Bulls were better than in the first half, but not nearly clean or consistent enough to change the shape of the game. When Anunoby hit a 23’ pullup—just a toenail shy of what could have been a personal-best eighth triple—the home team sat on a 108-72 lead.
Now that three quarters had passed and the differential stood at 36, Coach Mike Brown thought it safe to send in Tyler Kolek with a blend of Jose Alvarado, Jeremy Sochan, Jordan Clarkson, and Mohamed Diawara. About time he did! Under their watch, the lead would reach 47! Sure, they were outscored by 11, but, c’mon, the lead was still 36. After that, Alvarado made sure to score, completing a full house and inspiring the Garden crowd to give our heroes a well-deserved standing ovation. 50 wins for the third straight season! That deserves a clap.
Up Next
The Knicks travel to Atlanta for a rumble with the red-hot Hawks. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
* Should be one more, but the NBA Cup pulled a hammy to end its season.
