Knicks get routed by Bulls in second half after going ahead by 11
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns reacts after a foul called on him during the second half of an NBA game against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday in Chicago. Credit: AP/Melissa Tamez
CHICAGO — It was Derrick Rose Night at the United Center, a night to honor the local hero, the Chicago kid who’d gone on to stardom, then fought through injuries and adversity for 15 seasons.
And for much of the night it seemed that between the highlights being shown and the halftime ceremony honoring Rose, his legacy would be on display on the court as Jalen Brunson — whom Rose helped mentor as a child in the ways of the point guard — put those lessons into action in a fitting tribute.
But while Brunson held up his part of the bargain, scoring 26 of his 33 points even before Rose rushed over to hug him at halftime, the Knicks did not. They squandered an 11-point third-quarter lead and fell behind by as many as 19 in a 139-126 loss to the Bulls.
The Knicks slumped off the court in the end, with Karl-Anthony Towns limping off in the final minutes after taking a bump from Nikola Vucevic on a fast-break layup. It wasn’t the offensive output of Brunson or the 44 points from Towns that mattered as the defense — whether from tired legs or simple execution — failed them.
“They scored 41 points and we didn’t play a lick of defense,” Brunson said of the third quarter. “Offense wasn’t the problem. Our defense as a group just wasn’t there. I mean, when you give a good player confidence, it’s hard to stop him. I think we’ve got to set a tone earlier, which we did. But we didn’t set a tone in the beginning of the second half. They got it going. From that point, it’s like we had the lead but it felt like we were climbing uphill.”
The Knicks were outscored 42-13 in a span of 9:57 — with the Bulls shooting 8-for-9 from three-point range in that stretch — as Chicago turned its 11-point deficit into a 107-89 lead. Coby White, who shot 9-for-11 from three-point range, and Zach LaVine each scored 33 for the Bulls (16-19).
The Knicks (24-12) got within 119-113 as Towns scored 17 points in the first 5:42 of the fourth quarter. He had 25 points in the quarter and added 16 rebounds.
The loss came in the wake of a fourth-quarter collapse in Oklahoma City on Friday night and gave the Knicks their first losing streak since they dropped two straight in early November. The back-to-back road games ended an arduous stretch of the schedule in which they played 21 road games in their first 36 games.
It would be understandable if fatigue was a factor. All five starters logged more than 40 minutes Friday, the first time a Knicks starting five had done that in a game since 2013. If they looked gassed at the end, well, they were.
“Probably some,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Back-to-backs are part of the league. Couple that with [the Bulls] were off for three days. I knew they were going to be high energy. And I thought offensively we scored plenty. Defensively, we have to do better.
“If they score and you jog back or complain to an official, they’re racing it up. And so that’s where we can be better. I knew this would be as much a mental challenge as a physical one.”
Thibodeau has been criticized over the years for piling up minutes on his starters, but it’s an argument without merit. It comes mostly from those who don’t see the inner workings of how he’s adapted to the game and schedule.
A casual look at the numbers is alarming. The Knicks entered Saturday with four players in the top six in total minutes played this season. Mikal Bridges was first, OG Anunoby third, Josh Hart fourth and Brunson sixth. Only Towns sat outside the top 10, ranking 16th in total minutes played.
But the Knicks rarely practice, and as the season wears on, they even drop the lighter work of the morning shootarounds. They have opted for film and walk-throughs in a hotel ballroom. So adding a few more minutes in a game is countered by the rest days that might not have existed a few decades ago.
“We could make every excuse under the sun if we wanted to,” Towns said. “At the end of the day, OKC found a way to beat us. Chicago found a way to beat us. Simple as that. We could make excuses about every little thing. But at the end of the day, they found a way to beat us.”
Notes & quotes: Hart scored only two points but had 16 rebounds and 10 assists . . . The Bulls shot 20-for-37 from three-point range to the Knicks’ 8-for-30 and scored 76 points in the second half to erase the Knicks’ 72-63 halftime lead.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
