Bulls take Knicks' best shot, then come away with a win
This is was the kind of basketball the Bulls nearly signed up for in the summer of 2008.
With an opening for head coach, the Bulls pursued former Phoenix boss Mike D'Antoni, who chose an offer from New York instead. D'Antoni and the Knicks were in town Thursday night and made NBA history with their long-range offense.
New York set a record for most 3-point attempts in a half when it launched 29 by intermission. The Knicks finished 16-for-47 from long range, 2 short of the NBA mark set by Dallas in 1996.
The strategy worked for a while, as New York started the game by knocking down 7 of its first 12 shots from long range and opening a 27-10 lead in the first quarter.
In basketball, though, what starts hot usually turns cold, and the Bulls were able to rally for a 98-89 victory at the United Center, their third win in the last 14 games.
"We were able to go out there and gradually impose our will on them defensively," guard Kirk Hinrich said. "Down there (in the visitors' locker room), they're probably saying they missed a lot of shots. We feel like we guarded them pretty well."
The Bulls (9-15) weren't matched up quite right at the start of the game, mostly because New York (8-17) doesn't play with a traditional big man.
Veteran center Brad Miller guarded power forward David Lee when the game began, while Joakim Noah was asked to chase 6-foot-9 sharpshooter Al Harrington.
Harrington had a field day in the first quarter, scoring 14 points and hitting 4 of 7 attempts from long range.
"I always get mad at guards for getting hit by screens, but today was the first time in a long time it actually happened to me," Noah said.
"Those double screens, I had never really gone through that. As a big man, you're used to just running back to the paint. It was a tough matchup."
Eventually, the Bulls gave Miller a rest and used a more mobile lineup to slow down the Knicks.
After starting out 7-for-12 from 3-point range, New York missed its next 15 long-range attempts and the Bulls quickly erased the 17-point deficit. By halftime, the Knicks were 9-for-29 on 3-point shots.
"Yes, that is a lot for us," D'Antoni said. "Some were good and some were just jacked up. They went in early and that's how we got into taking them."
The fourth quarter still was a challenge for the Bulls, who trailed 79-75 with 8:34 left when 6-10 Danilo Gallinari tossed in a 3-point fadeaway with Luol Deng in his chest.
That's when the Bulls' defense stepped up to keep New York scoreless for the next five minutes while launching a 10-0 run. Deng (24 points, 13 rebounds) scored twice to force a tie, then rookie Taj Gibson (12 points, 10 rebounds) added a pair of baskets to send the Bulls ahead for good.
Clinging to a 4-point lead, the Bulls got a couple of clutch baskets to put the game away.
First, Derrick Rose (18 points) drove straight at 6-11 Jared Jeffries and finished a lay-in, then John Salmons (20 points) drilled a 3-pointer to put the home team ahead 90-81 with 47.7 seconds left.
The Bulls went 3-for-9 from 3-point range. New York accomplished a rare feat, shooting more 3-point shots (47) than 2-pointers (39).
"The game isn't won in the first 10 minutes," Noah said. "We stayed hungry, we hit the glass pretty well; we kept pounding it inside and finally got a 'W.' It feels like we accomplished something tonight. We stayed composed, even though they were raining 3s."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Bulls 98, Knicks 89</p> <p class="News"><b>Bombs away:</b> Mike D'Antoni's Knicks set an NBA record for 3-point attempts in a half by launching 29 by intermission. They made 7 of their first 12 to build a 17-point lead, then missed their next 15 from long range. By the end of the night, New York was 16-for-47 from 3-point range, 2 off the NBA record set by Dallas in 1996.</p> <p class="News"><b>Free checking: </b>The offensively challenged Bulls had been shooting 74 percent from the foul line this season but knocked down 25 of 28 free throws on Thursday. Luol Deng led the home team with 24 points and 13 rebounds.</p> <p class="News"><b>No free food:</b> What is it the Bulls give away to fans when they score 100 points and win? It hasn't happened at the UC yet this season, so no one knows for sure. This game ended with fans imploring the Knicks to intentionally foul one more time, but they wouldn't bite.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=345050">For Curry, minutes with Knicks are slim<span class="date"> [12/17/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>