Coming into the game between the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks you would think that it would be a blowout, even with both teams relatively healthy. Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Doug McDermott are all on the shelf and then the game changes for both sides. A late Knicks surge happened but it wasn’t enough as the Bulls locked down defensively in the fourth quarter to defeat the Knicks, 103-97.
A career high 35 points on the night for Jimmy Butler as he led the ‘roseless’ Bulls to another victory. Rose sat out for the ninth time this season, this time it was due to a stomach virus. Butler has been a good surprise on the season for the NBA as he as increased every statistical category shouldering more of a load for the Bulls. Butler 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals on the night to go with his scoring output.
Pau Gasol was the other starter to perform well with Butler for the Bulls. Gasol had 20 points with 7 rebounds and 5 blocks. Joakim Noah had 4 points but 13 rebounds. Aaron Brooks came off the bench to score 18 and handed out 5 assists while Nikola Mirotic joined him off the bench to score 13 points.
A few Knicks stepped up, especially the young second year player out of Michigan, the second generation player, Tim Hardaway Jr. Hardaway Jr led the Knicks with 23 points with 5 assists. Amar’e Stoudemire continued to impress this season and scored 16 points along with 6 rebounds and 4 blocks on the night for the Knicks. Cole Aldrich had a solid 13 point and 10 rebound double-double and Jose Calderon had 12 points on the night.
Knicks are still off to their worst start in franchise history.
Chicago Bulls are 16-9. New York Knicks are 5-23.
Full Game Highlights
