Bulls at Knicks
THE STORY: The Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks don’t have much left to prove in the final week of the regular season as the No. 1 and 6 seeds respectively in the Eastern Conference. That shouldn’t stop Derrick Rose from trying to lock down the MVP award. And it won’t prevent the Knicks from trying to make a statement in front of their fans to let them know they might actually have a chance to advance in the playoffs this spring. One thing is for certain: one team's seven-game winning streak will come to an end when Chicago visits New York on Tuesday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE KNICKS (42-38): New York is looking forward to the playoffs after clinching a .500 season for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign. With either the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics looming in the first round, the Knicks will not have much room for error and will need to be at full stregth in order to compete. With that in mind, Amar’e Stoudemire sat out Sunday’s 110-109 triumph over the Indiana Pacers with an ankle sprain. Stoudemire assured the media he would be 100 percent for the playoffs. In his absence, New York leaned on Carmelo Anthony for 34 points and got 21 points and seven assists from Chauncey Billups in its seventh straight victory. The Knicks trailed for the entire fourth quarter until Anthony buried a jumper with four seconds left. After allowing the Pacers 35 points in the third quarter, New York held them to 13 in the fourth.
ABOUT THE BULLS (60-20): Chicago secured it’s No. 1 spot with a win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday but have not let up at all since, winning at Cleveland and Orlando to secure its first 60-win campaign since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were actually on the court and not just surrounding it in bronze statues. The Bulls have won seven in a row overall and 19 of their past 21. About the only thing left for Chicago to determine in the regular season is if Rose is going to be able to beat out a strong field as the MVP. He certainly made a good case on Sunday, pouring in 39 points to go along with five assists in the 102-99 triumph over the Magic. Rose drained two free throws to bring the Bulls back within 94-93 and dunked off a turnover to give them the lead on the next possession with two minutes left. The previous five times Chicago reached 60 wins it won the NBA title - all with Jordan.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Anthony is averaging 31.5 points over the last eight games for the Knicks. Joakim Noah has not reached double figures in rebounds in any of the last four games for the Bulls.
KEY STATISTIC: Turnovers. Chicago turned it over 21 times in narrowly edging the Magic while New York only gave the ball away 11 times in coming back against the Pacers.
SEASON SERIES: The Knicks have taken both meetings this season, earning a 120-112 triumph at the United Center on Nov. 4 and then holding the Bulls to 12 points in the fourth quarter during a 103-95 victory at Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day. Chicago went scoreless over the final 8:22 in that one while Stoudemire and the since-departed Raymond Felton scored 20 points apiece to lead New York.
KEY INJURIES: CHICAGO: F Carlos Boozer (ankle). NEW YORK: F Amar’e Stoudemire (ankle).
LAST WORD: Rose was asked about winning the MVP award after Sunday’s game. “It would mean a lot,” he said. “It would definitely mean something. But I think we have a special team. I think winning a championship would mean more to me than an MVP award.”