Bulls 124, Knicks 123: “Did not see this turning into a fun one.”

After nearly forfeiting early in the third quarter, KAT leads a 20+ comeback only to lose on a ticky-tack foul.

For a decade, you heard Karl-Anthony Towns was soft. Well, not as a New York Knick (5-6), baby. Tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls (5-7) was a perfect example. Play after play, Karl kept swinging when it counted. He banged his neck on the stanchion and shook it off; he cracked knees with another player and limped it off. KAT played 38 minutes last night and 39 more tonight. Everyone who called Towns “soft” can get stuffed.

Despite strong efforts from Karl and Jalen Brunson to start the game, New York struggled with turnovers and poor shooting, trailing Chicago 59-47 at halftime. The Bulls ran circles around our heroes to take a 22-point lead in the third, but a Towns-led 17-0 run closed the third and cut the deficit to just five heading into the fourth. In a wild final frame, KAT was superhuman and Jalen Brunson was clutch—but his game-winner rimmed out at the buzzer. Knicks lose, 124-123.

Karl’s final stat line: 46 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals, 18-30 FG, and 6-12 3P. Jalen Brunson, playing on a sprained ankle, finished with 24 points and eight assists. Mikal Bridges turned a quiet game around to total 20 points on 8-of-15 from the floor (in 43 minutes). OG Anunoby scored 14 but had a team-worst -17 plus-minus, shooting 5-of-14 from the field. Josh Hart could be blamed for fouling Coby White from behind the arc with three seconds left, but he posted a team-high +12 plus-minus with eight rebounds, six points, and six assists.

Cameron Payne, questionable pre-game with a sore hamstring, was a blessing off the bench. He provided 11 of the second unit’s total 13 points, hit all four of his shots, and played timely defense. For Chicago, Zach LaVine finished with 31 points, and White collected 22, hitting 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.

Quoth BingBongRuinedUs: “Did not see this turning into a fun one.” Ditto that. The loss stung, but after the tepid first two and a half quarters, the second-half grit was pure joy.

First Half

Karl-Anthony Towns started the game with his 1,000th three-pointer. That shot put him in elite group of 18 NBA players who have reached 13,000+ points, 6,000+ rebounds, and 1,000+ three-pointers. Congrats, big fella!

Averaging 41.5 attempts per game, the Bulls rank third in the NBA for three-pointers. New York, however, tried to beat them at their game, with nine of their first 14 field goals coming from beyond the arc, while the Bulls attempted six of their first 13. Despite OG Anunoby’s disruptive defense (two blocks in the first-half and multiple deflections), the visitors out-rebounded New York (12-9), shot better (52% to 43%), and maintained their usual pace, closing the quarter with a seven-point lead at 29-22.

To start the second, a lineup of Cameron Payne, Miles “Deuce” McBride, Matt Ryan, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns played tighter defense and cut the defict to three . . . before allowing seven unanswered and falling behind by 10 points. The three-ball can quickly put a lot of distance on the scoreboard. After a timeout, Jalen Brunson replaced Deuce and sparked a 7-2 run.

New York’s eight turnovers and poor shooting—41% to Chicago’s 53%—allowed the visitors to extend their lead to 14. Though shooting well this season, OG Anunoby missed eight of nine attempts (including 1-of-6 from deep) and Josh Hart scored nothing pre-intermission. Keeping New York afloat, Brunson and Towns combined for 33 points to counter Zach LaVine’s 19 first-half points. At the break, the score stood at 59-47, Chicago.

Second Half

A 16-7 run put the Bulls up by 22, their largest lead of the game. Fans grumbled. Patrick Williams hit another three, and Nikola Vučević backed down Karl-Anthony Towns for another score and an And-1. KAT responded by drawing fouls on Vučević, though, sending him to the bench. With Vučević out, Towns was the engine trying to drag the Knicks’ comeback train up a high hill. The Knicks kept missing shots, though, and LaVine and the Bulls kept hitting theirs. Friends, things wuz bleak.

Then, with Jalen Brunson on the bench, presumably still nursing his sprained ankle, the comeback train finally gained momentum. Late in the third, however, Bridges, KAT, Hart, and Payne combined for 17 unanswered points, cutting the deficit to five (with some help from Deuce McBride’s defense). The Bulls went scoreless for over four minutes. Fans cheered. New York ended the quarter down, 90-85.

The game got wilder in the fourth! With Jalen cheering from the sideline, Cam Payne and Karl-Anthony Towns connected from deep and Josh Hart left footprints on the Bulls’ frontcourt to finally give the Knicks an improbable lead. Bulls bench guys Ayo Dosunmu and Dalen Terry answered with triples, and the game stayed neck-and-neck through the middle of the frame.

Towns broke 40 points, somehow carrying all of NYC on his broad shoulders. Vooch backed him down again, though, determined to exploit the All-Stars Achilles heel. Then KAT missed two free throws and traveled, and Chicago promptly went up by six.

Not to worry. A rested Brunson checked back in and showed poise under pressure, sharing leadership duties with Karl. Both teams got stops, both teams made shots. Patrick Williams missed his first three-pointer and Towns answered with a dunk, knotting the game at 119 apiece with a minute left. When LaVine passed the ball out-of-bounds, Jalen answered with a bucket for the lead with 36 seconds left.

Dosunmu netted two free-throws to tie the game, but Jalen Brunson drove for a layup and the lead again with 4.6 seconds left.

On the inbound, Chicago’s Coby White caught and fired from deep. He missed, but flailed like a first-year drama student when Hart brushed his ‘fro. A foul was called. White made all three. Jalen had a look with the clock expiring, but it rimmed out. Ballgame.

Notes

• On this day in 1998, Hall of Fame Coach Red Holzman, who led the franchise to championships in 1970 and 1973 and a record 613 victories, passed away at 78 from leukemia.
• Josh Hart recorded 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists against the 76ers on Tuesday, marking his seventh triple-double as a Knick and tying him with Mark Jackson for the fifth-most in franchise history.
• Chicago’s rookie Matas Buzelis had recorded three blocks prior to tonight’s game—and matched that with three more in the first half.
• Tonight’s trivia: Before tonight, Josh Giddey had a triple-double in each of his first three career games at Madison Square Garden. Sounds impressive? Larry Bird had six in his first six games at MSG.
• This was Karl-Anthony Towns’ 15th career game of 40+ points.
• KAT missed four costly free throws tonight. After the game, MSG’s camera picked up on him putting shots up from the charity stripe. That’s a Knick.

Up Next

Next up, the Nets visit the Garden on Friday for another IST game. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

Box Score