Bulls at Knicks
The Chicago Bulls will have to dig deep into their energy reserves when they hit the road for the first time in 10 days with a visit to New York on Saturday. It took four overtimes - tied for the longest game in Bulls' history and just the fourth game of that length since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976 - before Chicago finally fell to Detroit 147-144 on Friday night, ending an otherwise solid homestand at 4-1.
Jimmy Butler missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer but set a career high with 43 points, while Derrick Rose had 34 and Pau Gasol 30 in the loss, which left the Bulls 0-3 in overtime games this season. The Knicks also played Friday night but they built a 21-point halftime lead and were able to rest their starters down the stretch in a 107-97 win at Philadelphia. Arron Afflalo led five players in double figures with 22 points as New York ran its winning streak to three games. The Bulls won all three meetings with the Knicks last season, including a 24-point rout in their one visit to Madison Square Garden.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE BULLS (15-9): Three Chicago players scored at least 30 points in the same game for the first time since Scottie Pippen (35), Toni Kukoc (31) and Michael Jordan (30) did it on Dec. 17, 1996, but the category that matters most going forward is minutes played. Butler played 55 minutes (nearly double the Knicks' minutes leader on Friday, Carmelo Anthony) and Rose finished with 54, with the pair combining for 63 shots. The 35-year-old Gasol lasted 48 minutes in Chicago's sixth game in 10 days.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (13-14): The offensive woes continue for star rookie Kristaps Porzingis, but he is finding other ways to contribute. The 20-year-old scored eight points against the 76ers and is averaging 7.2 points on 27.1 percent shooting in a five-game slump, but he followed up seven blocked shots two nights earlier with another three on Friday. Afflalo has picked up much of the slack on the offensive end by averaging 22 points during New York's three-game run.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Anthony is shooting 38.4 percent from the floor at home.
2. The Bulls are 2-0 in the second game of back-to-backs.
3. Butler averaged 26.5 points in two games versus New York last season.