Chicago Bulls avenge away loss with home win against New York Knicks – NBA Recap
The Chicago Bulls hosted the New York Knicks in a bid to avenge their Sunday night loss at the Madison Square Garden.
Bulls played without reigning MVP, Derrick Rose, who sat out yet again due to an ankle injury. This was the 23rd game that Rose sat out this year due to injury. However, they were able to come out with a 98-86 win.
Richard ‘Rip’ Hamilton led the Bulls, scoring 20 points in nearly 20 minutes of playing time, with 18 coming in the breakaway third quarter. This was only the third 20 point plus game for Hamilton this season, and a good sign for
the Bulls as they head toward the playoffs.
Carmelo Anthony, who had 43 points in the Sunday night win over the Bulls, scored 29 points to lead the Knicks scoring. With this win, Chicago took the season series against the Knicks 3-1.
The Knicks missed their first 6 field goal attempts to open the game. They got their first points on the board at the 7:46 mark, with a jump shot by Landry Fields. The Bulls took advantage to go on an 8-0 run to start the game.
New York responded immediately with a 9-0 run of their own to lead 11-10. They again went on a 7-0 run to pull away from the Bulls, after a hardly contested middle period of the 1st quarter involving 5 lead changes.
Luol Deng scored a 3 pointer with only 13.6 seconds left in the quarter to pull the Bulls to within 3 of the Knicks, and the quarter finished with the Knicks leading 25-22.
Kyle Korver and John Lucas III scored back to back 3 pointers to cap a 14-2 run by the Bulls to open the second quarter. The Bulls ended the period with back to back points by Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng to lead 47-35 at the end
of the first half. New York were 3-of-18 from the field including 3 point attempts for the quarter and only managed 10 points.
The Knicks opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run to reduce the deficit to 4 points. But Rip Hamilton seemed to have found his form which made him an All Star in his golden years with the Detroit Pistons. He scored 18 of the
25 Bulls points of the third quarter, including 8 straight for Chicago to end the quarter. His performance helped the Bulls maintain a 10 point lead over the Knicks going into the final 12 minutes of the game.
In Sunday night’s game, the Knicks came from a 10 point deficit in the 4th quarter to win against the Bulls. Chicago was not going to let that happen again. They kept a comfortable lead throughout the quarter and did
not let New York build any momentum, denying them the chance of a comeback streak. Kyle Korver was the man for the Bulls in the final quarter, scoring 11 points in the 4th quarter, including 2 three pointers.
Rip Hamilton led the Bulls scoring with 20 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Luol Deng had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Joakim Noah had 7 points and 9 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks scoring with 29 points and 5
assists, while J.R Smith came off the bench to add 14 points. Iman Shumpert had 12 for the night.
The Bulls did not have a good shooting night, going 43.3% from the field and 11 of 16 from the free throw line. They were good from the three point line, scoring 9 of their 20 attempts. The Knicks managed 21 free throws, 5 more
than the Bulls, and converted 17 of those.
However, the difference once again was the defense of Chicago. Bulls outscored the Knicks 51-33 in rebounds, including 18-5 in offensive boards. They had 10 blocks compared to 5 by New York, and 12 turnovers compared with 16 for
the Knicks. Chicago also outnumbered the Knicks in assists 27-16.
With this win, Bulls improve their record to 44-14, the best in the league. They improve their home record to 23-6, and have the 4th best home record and the best away record in the league at the moment. New York are
in 8th place in the Eastern Conference and after this loss, only 1 win clear of 9th placed Milwaukee.
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