Knicks at Bulls
The New York Knicks followed up a 16-point win over the Chicago Bulls with four straight losses, but finally pulled out of the funk on Tuesday with a home win over Detroit. The Knicks are hoping to take that momentum on the road when they visit the Bulls on Friday.
New York averaged 93 points during its four-game slide but shot 54.4 percent from the floor in the 108-96 win over the Pistons. “A lot of times effort is physical, but at the highest levels of performance it is mental,” Knicks coach Derek Fisher told reporters. “And so you have to make the effort and the commitment to be able to execute the right way, make the right cut, communicate the right coverage defensively.” The Bulls made the mental and physical effort on the final play Wednesday to grab a 102-100 overtime triumph over the Indiana Pacers. Jimmy Butler tipped in Pau Gasol’s lob at the rim as Chicago improved to 2-0 on its three-game homestand.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE KNICKS (15-18): New York was dealing with some off-the-court drama during its day off on Wednesday, when news broke that second-year small forward Cleanthony Early had been shot in the knee during a robbery outside of a club. “I'm pretty sure a lot of people are working on trying to figure that out,” star forward Carmelo Anthony told reporters on the topic of gun violence. “We have to do something. We have to figure that part out." Early is not expected to need surgery but will miss an indefinite period of time.
ABOUT THE BULLS (18-12): Chicago was coming off a four-overtime loss the night before when it fell to the Knicks on Dec. 19, and the hangover from that marathon seemed to last the next week as the team went on to drop four of five. The Bulls finally seem to be bringing things around in the last two contests, earning wins over Eastern Conference contenders Toronto and Indiana while getting big contributions from the bench. Aaron Brooks stepped up for the reserves with 29 points in Wednesdays win while Bobby Portis chipped in 16.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bulls G Derrick Rose (hamstring) sat out Wednesday and is day-to-day.
2. Anthony is averaging 26.5 points in the last two games.
3. Chicago took the last two meetings on its home court by an average of 18.5 points.