NEW YORK (AP) — It came down to a matter of inches at Madison Square Garden for the Bulls on Wednesday night.
This time, it went their way.
Coby White made all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with three seconds left, then Jalen Brunson’s potential game-winning shot rimmed out at the buzzer, as the Bulls survived for a 124-123 victory over the New York Knicks after blowing a 22-point lead.
Zach LaVine scored 31 points to lead the Bulls, White scored 22 — including the game-winning free throws — Nikola Vucevic had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Patrick Williams scored 18 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 16 points and six assists off the bench.
That was enough to outlast a huge night by the Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 46 points and 10 rebounds. Brunson finished with 24 points, and Mikal Bridges had 20 for New York.
The Bulls led by as many as 22 points in the third quarter, but the Knicks rallied to go ahead, 123-121, on Brunson’s bucket with four seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possession, however, White was fouled by Josh Hart on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws before Brunson just missed at the buzzer.
The Bulls improved to 5-7 overall and 4-3 on the road and are in a stretch of playing five of seven away from the United Center. Up next is a Friday night game in Cleveland against the Cavaliers, who improved to 13-0 on Wednesday night after beating the 76ers in Philadelphia.
Takeaways
Bulls: After playing in three of the Bulls’ first four games, Lonzo Ball has missed eight straight with a sprained right wrist. He missed the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons with knee injuries. Prior to the game, LaVine was listed as “probable” due to a strained right adductor, but he was in the starting lineup.
Knicks: The Knicks were playing their first back-to-back of the season after defeating Philadelphia on Tuesday. New York has had the same starting five in all 11 games this season, and they are all scoring in double figures. Tom Thibodeau coached the Bulls for five seasons and is now in his fifth season leading the Knicks. He’s 9-6 vs. Chicago as New York’s head coach.
Key moment
The Knicks trailed by 22 points, 90-68, but went on a 17-0 run to end the third quarter and get back into the game.
Key stat
After shooting 41.3% (19-of-46) in the first half, the Knicks connected at a 60.4% clip (29-of-48) in the second to erase their double-digit deficit.
Up next
The Bulls visit Cleveland and the Knicks host Brooklyn on Friday night.
Both games tip off at 6:30 p.m.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
