The New York Knicks squeezed past the Chicago Bulls 120-119 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday Afternoon. The game went to overtime and was close throughout. Neither team led by more than eight points. Alex Caruso made some great hustle plays on defense to keep the Bulls in it. An astounding three Bulls players scored more than 20 points but it was no match for the Knicks. Despite committing 21 turnovers, New York pulled out the victory and will be the East second seed in the NBA playoffs behind the first seed and East favorite Boston Celtics. The New York Knicks finished out their season strong, winning their last five games, including a 118-109 win against the top-seeded Celtics.
Big Day For Jalen Brunson
The Knicks star guard had a fantastic game, scoring 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists on 14-30 shooting. This was Brunson’s 11th game this season scoring 40 or more points. Shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo had 25 points, including hitting five threes. This was the 12th most points DiVincenzo has scored this season. His season-high was 40 points against the Detroit Pistons on March 25th. Along with Brunson, DiVincenzo is having a great season as well.
NBA commentators such as ESPN’s Doris Burke said that Jalen Brunson could overtake Giannis Antetokounmpo on the All-NBA First Team since the Knicks clinched the No. 2 seed and the Bucks got the No. 3 seed. Many people think that the Bucks have underperformed this season. With the addition of seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard, it would have been easy to think that the Bucks would be one of the top 2 teams in the Eastern Conference. However, that hasn’t been the case.
With this performance, Jalen Brunson tied legend Patrick Ewing for the second-most 40-point games in a season by a Knicks player. The most was done by Bernard King who did it 13 times in the 1984-85 season.
The Stat Sheet
On paper, as well as the final score, this was a very close game. The Knicks shot a little better than the Bulls, having a field goal percentage of 50.5 to the Bulls’ 48.5. Scoring from beyond the arc is how New York differentiated themselves though, holding a three-point percentage of 37.5 to Chicago’s 25.8. The Bulls were just 8-31 from three-point range.
Bulls star DeMar DeRozan put up 30 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals on 11-24 shooting. Center Nikola Vucevic had 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists on 12-19 shooting (63%).
Crunch Time
After Bulls guard Coby White made a two-pointer to go ahead 109-107 with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter, Jalen Brunson tied the game up at 109 when he hit an 11-foot pullup jumper.
After a Knicks’ turnover and two missed shots by the Bulls, Jalen Brunson had a chance to win it for New York at the end of the fourth. Guarded by Alex Caruso, he went into iso. He lost control of the ball but then regained it and drove baseline to miss an 18-foot jump shot. We were going to overtime.
In overtime, after the ball went off Josh Hart’s knee during an inbound play, the Bulls gained possession and had the chance to win the game with 13.4 seconds left. DeMar DeRozan took the inbound pass at mid-court. After going off a screen, Derozan drove to the basket and shot a driving floater. It did not go. Jalen Brunson controlled the rebound and the Knicks secured the victory.
The New York Knicks Are Thriving Without Julius Randle
Despite power forward Julius Randle undergoing season-ending right shoulder surgery, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski on April 4th, the New York Knicks are doing just fine without him. The Knicks finished higher in the standings without Randle than they did with him.
“You don’t have to wind these guys up and that’s what I love about them,” Head coach Tom Thibodeau said about the team’s resolve. “Sometimes we’re not going to be perfect, we’ll make some mistakes, but they’re going to compete and I think that’s important.”
What’s Next For The New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls
The New York Knicks will play the winner of the play-in game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Chicago Bulls will host the No. 10 seed Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. If they win that game, they will have to defeat the winner of the No. 7 vs No. 8 game on the road Friday to get the No. 8 seed in the playoffs.
About The Author
Cooper Sherman is an avid NFL fan and enjoys watching and covering it the most. The NFL is king. He previously wrote and was a podcaster for the online publications Pro Sports Fanatics and Jersey Column. He is also an NBA fan and watches it occasionally, more when the NFL season ends. Tennis is also an underrated sport to watch. His teams are the Patriots and Celtics, as tough as it is to be a Patriots fan right now. He is optimistic that Jerod Mayo will turn this team in the right direction! Follow him on Instagram and Threads @coopstershermy456, and X/Twitter @justcoopthings.
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