The Knicks beat the Bulls 133-127 in Chicago on Wednesday night after trailing by as many as 19. Jalen Brunson scored 38 points. ESPN reported he added seven assists, and Yahoo Sports said the Knicks "looked lost at sea" in the third quarter. It was New York's second straight win.
The box score shows where the game turned. The third quarter was even at 34-34, so the deficit was built earlier. Chicago outscored New York 29-22 in the second quarter and led for 55 percent of the game. New York then won the fourth 43-31. Brunson shot 13-of-25, including 6-of-10 from three, with two steals and one turnover-light 35 minutes. He had two turnovers.
Yahoo's headlines credited the bench: one called the game "big-time bench minutes" and said Clarkson, Kolek and Shamet sparked "a 25-point turnaround." The numbers back that up. Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 17 minutes and finished +15. Tyler Kolek had nine points and nine assists, hitting 3-of-4 from three, in 18 minutes at +13. That is a large step up from his only previous appearance this season, 15 minutes without a made basket. Landry Shamet added 14 points on 4-of-7 from three and was +13 in 32 minutes.
Deadspin noted that Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. He also had five assists but committed four turnovers. OG Anunoby scored 23. New York out-rebounded Chicago 50-39, including 16 offensive boards to 8, and shot 22-of-48 from three against Chicago's 18-of-42. Norman Powell led the Bulls with 30 points. Josh Giddey had 11 assists and Caleb Wilson scored 20.
The outlets disagree on the records. Posting and Toasting listed the Knicks at 2-3 and the Bulls at 1-4, and it called New York the "world champion" Knicks. BenchScout's tables have New York at 2-2, fourth in the Atlantic, and Chicago at 0-4, fifth in the Central with four straight losses. Our figures are the ones we're using. The same piece said the Knicks were on the second night of a back-to-back. Our schedule shows them beating Detroit 111-97 on Tuesday, which matches that.
Brunson's start shows the scoring was a surge. Through three games before this one he was shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 1.3 made threes a night. Wednesday's 6-of-10 from deep was well above that.
The Knicks play again Friday at Philadelphia. Chicago is also back on the road Friday, at Boston. The Celtics beat the Bulls 134-99 on Monday.
Discussion