BING BONG

The last time the Chicago Bulls played the New York Knicks, it was quite the ugly game due to physical basketball & abysmal officiating—the exact same thing happened last night. Listen, I really like this new age of basketball with the physical & tough defense plus stricter foul drawing rules but the NBA officials still have to recognize when a foul is a foul. New York has a history of rugged & tough basketball, especially against the Chicago Bulls but the referees need to recognize when it goes a little overboard. I’ll talk more about the officiating throughout the post. It was good to see the Bulls get over the awful officiating & continue their style of basketball. Chicago continuously drove the basketball & scored a lot in the paint. They also returned some of the favor by playing their brand of physical defense led by Lonzo Ball & Alex Caruso. DeMar & Caruso were absolutely essential in the win but the player that impacted that game the most was Coby White; it was great to see Coby get going & start to go back to his old self. Hitting some crucial shots down the stretch followed by the closing by of DeMar led to a breath holding win against a struggling New York Knicks team.

The Chicago Bulls popped off in the first quarter with great energy & early activity. This caused for a 11-4 run in the beginning of the quarter & them taking control of the game early. Tony Bradley looked significantly better off the PnR & provided a spark that isn’t very common. The Bulls were in attack mode the whole time, not settling for jumpers conducted by Zach LaVine. Zo & Caruso played impressive defense on Randle by timing the double team perfectly & forcing him to make tough passes or shots but eventually Randle did get going to help the Knicks jump out to an 8-0 run. The run was also helped by the careless basketball we often see from the Bulls. Nerlens Noel picked up three quick fouls which put the Knicks in a tricky situation since they were already without Taj Gibson & Mitchell Robinson while Javonte Green picked up three fouls too. The Bulls then went on a field goal drought ending the quarter up five points. The Bulls got out of their offensive slump quickly by starting the second quarter with great ball movement & hitting shots. Coby & Ayo came in to help provide a spark with Ayo leading the way with just exceptional defense & energy; Ayo hit a couple shots & forced an asinine turnover by the Knicks—his confidence is his best tool. Coach Thibs decided to do his “blitz” defense he’s known for forcing DeMar & Zach to take tough shots or make difficult passes—a defensive schemes the Bulls still haven’t found an answer to. The Knicks bench did the rest by providing energy that the starters lacked, something that Thibs has been vocal about. Then the officiating just became brutal starting with back-to-back technical fouls being called on Alex Caruso & DeMar DeRozan; the technical fouls came due to the officiating discrepancy. DeMar & Zach were both being hit on practically every drive but the fouls weren’t being called. Although the Bulls had more points in the pain, the Knicks had 12 free throw attempts compared to the Bulls 3 free throw attempts. Seemed like the Bulls players needed to get sniped in the head in order to get a foul call but the Bulls managed to hold on to their lead ending the first half up 51-45.

The Bulls came out slow in the third quarter, it looked like a mental thing to me. Similar to how Jordan & the Bulls were getting frustrated by the Bad Boy Pistons, LaVine & the Bulls looked frustrated by the Knicks & officiating. The players continued to struggle with the physical play while Randle actually found his groove. Randle led a surge of scoring and the Knicks went on a 13-3 run to take a one-point lead with about six & a half minutes left to play. The Knicks continued to attack the Bulls & get to the foul line; Zo, Caruso & Green all ended up with 4 fouls by the end of the quarter. The Knicks bench continued to provide unlimited energy and this was without Derrick Rose playing in the third. The offense for the Bulls became stagnant & sloppy as the New York Knicks ended the quarter up 74-72. Then Coby White came to life. The quarter started with back-to-back threes by Coby & DJJ, providing the exact spark the Bulls needed. Seeing Coby hit a shot made everyone on the team super excited & Coby himself expressed emotion. Energy began flowing throughout the team & the United Center led by Alex Caruso being practically everywhere on the floor. Coby hit a couple more threes & DeRozan got to his spots to help supplement a rough shooting night by Zach LaVine. The Chicago Bulls showed once again why they’re one of the best fourth quarter team, if not the best, by outscoring the Knicks 37-29 in the final frame. DeRozan & LaVine also continued their phenomenal fourth quarter play by dropping eight & ten, respectively. This would make it the 12th time in 17 games that the duo would eclipse 20 points on the same night. The Bulls finish off the game strong & win 109-103.

The Chicago Bulls continue to show they are a team with tenacity & toughness with this rugged win. Despite a frustrating night & poor shooting, they remained calm & composed to seal a win. The Chicago Bulls go on to face the Indiana Pacers tonight in a back-to-back game; usually in a back-to-back game, the starters would like more help from the bench & hopefully they can tonight. It was good to see Coby get back in his groove since he’s a vital part of the scoring aspect of the bench. Let’s hope to see some more of the Coby we’re used to seeing. Another night without Vooch, the Bulls will have to go up against Myles Turner, one of the best shot blocking big men in the league and also have their hands full with an all-star in Domantas Sabonis. Chris Duarte, their rookie, is also playing great basketball & will provide a tough matchup. Facing a middle of the pack team, the Bulls should be able to come out of this one with a win but the NBA this year has been quite the show.