The rivalry between the Chicago Bulls & New York Knicks has revived. Every game they have played so far has been a tough game—both physically & mentally. The Chicago Bulls went to the Big Apple to take on the Knicks in Madison Sqaure Garden, they were able to outlast a very well put together run by the Knicks & come out on top. The Bulls came out firing on every cylinder possible in the beginning but as the Bulls have done all season, couldn’t keep their lead. I was just happy to see the Bulls beat the Knicks & their insanely annoying fans, regardless of the circumstances. Coach Billy Donovan called a great game & the Bulls showed their potential by playing great team basketball. Alex Caruso was flawless, though the box score won’t show that, even though he had a whopping +21 in the game. The three-headed monster the Bulls fans were hoping to experience soon is seeming to come together as Vooch scored 27, Zach scored 27 & DeMar had a game high 34, with 18 in the final frame alone. Lonzo didn’t have a great shooting night but always makes up for it on the other end. If the Bulls can continue to play like this, they will absolutely be a team that’s a contender.
The first quarter was a beauty. The Bulls shot right out of the gun with a blistering 37 points in the first frame. Vooch & Zach looked awesome with 13 & 11, respectively. The ball was moving beautifully & the defense was tremendous—leading to 8 first quarter turnovers. The Bulls were then able to get out in transition & do what they do best. Practically every Bull scored & held an 18-point lead at the end of the first. There was no scoring disparity in the second quarter though, as both teams scored 32 points. With Lonzo Ball picking up a third foul early in the quarter, it gave the Knicks a little more wiggle room but Troy Brown Jr came & stepped up as well as he could; TBJ played great defense, showed hustle & hit shots. DeMar was the man during the second quarter scoring 14 points in the quarter along with Zach scoring 7. The Knicks tried to dial up their pressure but the Bulls continued to play decent basketball. By the end of the first half, the Bulls were up 69-51, in a game that had blowout written all over it.
As we have seen the Bulls do all season long, they did it again—took their foot off the gas. Clearly, Coach Thibodeau yelled at his unit during halftime with the Knicks coming out with insane ball pressure in the beginning of the second half. Although the Bulls didn’t turn the ball over a lot, they just didn’t look good. The offense became stagnant & they weren’t able to get good looks off. The Knicks started off with a 27-10 run against the Bulls & finished the quarter with 32 points to the Bulls 20. Their defense was honestly a sight to see as they held the Bulls to a terrible 35 percent shooting—turning a large lead into a 6-point lead. The fourth quarter was just as scary for Bulls fans, especially since we’ve seen blown leads not just this year, but all the time. Luckily the Bulls have two of the top three closers in the NBA; DeMar dropped 18 points in the final quarter & Zach had six big points. DeMar as usual, kept his composure down the stretch & hit his midranges & free throws like he’s done all season. He showed a flurry of moves & hit ridiculous shots to keep the Bulls from giving the game away. Vooch came through big time, similarly to the last game, by hitting a couple of big threes leading the Bulls Big Three to have all of the quarters 30 points. Although the Knicks took a momentarily one-point lead, the Bulls executed both offensively & defensively. Caruso & Ball excelled on the defensive end while the Big Three gave buckets. Caruso had three steals in the fourth quarter & now leads the NBA in steals. The Bulls kept it together & pulled out of this exciting game with a solid win.
As scary & intense this game was, it was really fun. The Bulls are an exciting team to watch & the rivalry being revived only adds to it. I was very happy to see the Bulls keep their composure & not panic, something that they usually do. The veteran leadership of DeRozan is clearly rubbing off on other players & was absolutely needed. Coach Donovan kept his unit together & in my opinion, outcoached Thibodeau. The Bulls will now face the Brookyln Nets tonight which will be another fun matchup; they already beat the Nets early in the season but that was when Harden didn’t look like himself. Harden is now slowly getting back to form & Kevin Durant is playing basketball at a level we’ve never seen before. The Bulls announced they Javonte Green has entered Health & Safety protocols to join Coby White—a huge loss. The Bulls are already short in the forward position but now DJJ & TBJ will need to step up by hitting shots & providing great energy. I expect Caruso to start at the PF position tonight. The Bulls should continue their momentum & immediately go to Vooch in the beginning of the game with Zach & DeMar following later at their own pace. This game might get a little ugly but should be fun nonetheless.
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