Noah, Anthony lead Knicks past Bulls
NEW YORK -- Joakim Noah recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to help the New York Knicks to a 104-89 win over the Chicago Bulls, his former team, on Thursday.
Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks (18-22), who had lost nine of their last 10 games, with 23 points. Former Bull Derrick Rose contributed 17 points and Kyle O'Quinn came off the bench to score 12 points and pull down 11 rebounds.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas recorded a career-high 19 points for the Knicks.
Rose and Noah were acquired by the Knicks over the summer in an effort to beef up their scoring and defense.
Dwyane Wade led Chicago (19-21) with 22 points.
Chicago got as close as 94-84 with 2:57 to play, but a reverse layup from Kuzminskas and a 3-pointer from Anthony sealed the win.
An 8-0 run by the Knicks turned a 60-57 lead into a 68-57 cushion after Anthony deposited a 17-foot jumper with 4:55 left in the third.
The Knicks forged ahead to their biggest lead, 88-73, on a jump shot from O'Quinn with 7:57 to play.
In the first half, New York raced to a 10-4 lead, then held on for a 24-22 edge at the end of the quarter. Rose tossed in eight points in the quarter.
The Bulls took their first lead, 36-34, thanks to a pair of free throws from Paul Zipser with 5:54 left in the second quarter.
A traditional 3-point play from Rose put the Knicks ahead 54-49 with 4.8 seconds left in the half before a jumper by Rajon Rondo at the horn cut New York's lead to 54-51.
NOTES: Knicks F Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth game due to a sore left Achilles tendon. He tried playing through the injury in the last four games, but shot just .417 from the floor and averaged only 4.3 rebounds, well below his season average. Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said the training staff will continue to evaluate Porzingis. ... Bulls G Jimmy Butler, F Nikola Mirotic and Denzel Valentine missed their second straight game due to illness. ... Bulls' C Robin Lopez and G Jerian Grant made their first trip to Madison Square Garden since getting traded by the Knicks over the summer for Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday.