The New York Knicks took home another meaningless win in April. This one was against the Chicago Bulls. So much for tanking.
- New York Knicks 100 (30-48)
- Chicago Bulls 91 (38-40)
- NBA, Final, Box Score
- Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York
New York was without Kristaps Porzingis (sore back) and Derrick Rose (meniscus) on Tuesday. Without those two Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks in scoring to put finalize the season sweep against Chicago.
Melo made his return tonight after missing the last two games because of a sore thigh. He scored 23 points in his comeback. The Knicks had a 54-40 lead heading into halftime, thanks to Justin Holiday. One thought of as a throw in to the Rose trade Holiday scored eight points in the first half as he helped New York to a 14 point lead on his former team.
Jimmy Butler who had 26 points, tried to help the Bulls get the lead back in the third quarter. However, the Knicks played surprisingly great defense holding Chicago to under 100 points and 38 percent from the field. This game was one of the best defensive games this season for the Knicks. Lastly, the Bulls did not score 30 points in any of the four quarters.
The Knicks held former players Robin Lopez and Jerian Grant to a combined 11 points on 5 of 13 shooting. Grant logged only seven minutes and didn’t score.
In the fourth quarter, the Knicks were not thinking about losing for draft purposes. The Knickerbockers were up 13, and Jeff Hornacek put Melo back in the game with five minutes left. The Knicks sealed their season sweep by winning 100-91.
.@MKuzminskas on the win tonight: "We were sharing the ball and it didn't matter who scored." #NYKvsCHI #Knicks
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 5, 2017
Knick Of The Night: Maurice Ndour
Maurice Ndour got his first start of his career in Porzingis’ absence and had a career night. The rookie posted new career highs of 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Stat Of The Night: 26 Knicks Assists
The key to the Knicks victory was sharing the ball. Nine out of the 10 players who played Tuesday had at least one assist.
ESNY’s Ryan Long talked about why 2017 draft prospect Frank Ntilikina would be a perfect fit for the Knicks in the future.
ESNY’s Ty Butler turned sad memories to a delightful read by telling us why Jackson should be fired in the offseason.
Up Next: The Knicks continuing their three-game home trip against the Washington Wizards (47–31) on Thursday, Apr. 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
