The Chicago Bulls lose their second consecutive game that has gone into OT, this time losing against the New York Knicks, 128-120. New York has won their fifth straight game and sits with a top-six record in the East, 15-13. Chicago will fall to 11-16 but are 1.5 games out of the last play-in spot.
Julius Randle got team-high 31 points and 13 rebounds. Randle has scored 30+ in two out of his last three games. Jalen Brunson got season-high 30 points and seven assists, including one late three-pointer in OT. R.J. Barrett and Quentin Grimes contributed with four threes each. Barrett finished with 23 points, fouled out with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Grimes got 14 points.
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DeMar DeRozan dropped 32 points, half of which came from the free-throw line. Zach Lavine scored 25 points on 23 shots, going 2-for-8 from deep. Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Miles McBride Spark Knicks (2nd Quarter)
The Knicks got hot after a cold first quarter, shooting 72.% from the field, missing only five shots. New York built their first double-digit lead with a couple of Miles McBridge threes to go up by 11, 42-31. A Brunson lay-up with 4:58 left during the second quarter gave New York their biggest lead of the night at 14, 55-41. Brunson scored 10 points during the second quarter. Chicago managed to cut the lead down to nine by halftime. The Bulls often got Vucevic involved in the post, which led to 11 first-half points for Vucevic. But Lavine and DeRozan combined to go 5-for-16 during the first half.
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Defense helps Bulls get offense cooking (3rd Quarter)
Even though the Knicks shot 52.6% from the field and 55.6% from deep, the Bulls’ defense got back in the game. The Bulls went on a 10-0 run started by a Lavine three-pointer. A few possessions later, a Vucevic dunk got Chicago their first lead of the night at 77-76. During the second half, the Bulls caused five turnovers, leading to six points for Chicago. But those six points sparked Chicago’s defense. Three of the five turnovers got forced by the excellent defense of Alex Caruso. Caruso got three steals during the third quarter.
Late surge get Chicago to OT
Jalen Brunson hit a floater to extend their lead to five with 2:34 remaining in the game, 114-109. After a couple of DeRozan free throws, Billy Donavon won their coach’s challenge to save the game; if the challenge was not overturned, that would have given Randle two free throws. Instead, DeRozan got two more free throws, but Grimes hit his fourth three of the game to get the lead back to four, 117-113. Next Bulls possession, DeRozan hit two free throws once again. Patrick Williams got a clutch block, which turned into a DeRozan lay-up to tie the game at 117. Julius Randle got the chance to win the game but failed by a tough shot against Patrick Williams. With 0.7 left, Williams was close to getting his first career game-winner but missed; it could have been a foul called on Randle. In 2:34 of regulation, Chicago went on an 8-3 run to force OT.
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OT nightmare for Chicago
You think the Bulls learned their lesson from Sunday night’s loss, ending heartbreakingly against the Hawks in OT. But the Bulls managed to score only three points during OT. Those three points came by a DeRozan field goal to tie the game at 119 and Lavine’s free throw with 27.2 seconds left. Chicago finished the OT shooting 1-for-7 from the field, with three missed shots coming from deep. After being up 122-119, Brunson and McBride hit threes on back-to-back possessions to seal the deal and send Chicago back to the drawing board. Brunson scored seven points during OT.
Final Thoughts
Another Close Loss
This season’s problem has been about something other than not getting blown out against teams. Chicago’s issues have been with losing close games. Chicago held the lead during the fourth quarter in their last four losses. Shot selections late in the game have been the victim for Lavine and Vucevic. Both guys can be aggressive but choose to result with their three-point shooting. The good news for Chicago is they still have time to fix their issues, but time is running out, especially with the latest news about Lonzo Ball.
Three Point Shooting helps New York
After shooting 8-for-35 against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, they responded by making 18 threes. That is the second most this season for the Knicks. With no Derrick Rose or Evan Fournier, the New York Knicks find themselves in the top half of the East.
Up Next
Both teams will meet again at the United Center on Friday.
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