Bulls 118, Knicks 111
CHICAGO -- Carmelo Anthony was the high-scorer, but he wasn't this game's most efficient scorer.
That honor went to Chicago guard Nate Robinson, who hit 10-of-18 shots for 35 points, leading the Bulls to a 118-111 overtime victory over New York on Thursday night at the United Center.
The result snapped the Knicks' 13-game winning streak. Of course, the Bulls have some experience with that, having ended Miami's 27-game win streak on March 27. Chicago also swept all four games against New York this season.
Anthony finished with 36 points and 19 rebounds, his sixth straight game with at least 35 points. But he hit just 13-of-34 shots from the field.
After Chicago trailed by 15 points in the third quarter and led 99-90 with 5:38 left, the teams went to overtime.
The Bulls got off to a fast start in the extra session, opening with a Robinson drive and 3-point play, then a 3-pointer from Luol Deng made it 111-107. Robinson, who spent his first five NBA seasons with the Knicks, kept rolling and scored 8 points overall in overtime.
Jimmy Butler added 22 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago, while Deng scored 16 points. J.R. Smith added 28 points for the Knicks, but he hit just 11-of-27 shots.
After trailing by as many as 17 points, the Bulls went ahead 85-82 on Richard Hamilton's 3-pointer at the 10:25 mark of the fourth quarter and tried to hang on. The Chicago lead reached 99-90 at one point, but Smith brought New York back with 7 points down the stretch and his post hook trimmed the margin to 105-103 with 1:16 left.
The Knicks missed one chance to take the lead when Jason Kidd missed a 3-pointer. After forcing another Chicago miss, Anthony tied the score on two free throws with 14.5 seconds remaining.
The Bulls tried to work for the last shot, but Deng missed a bank shot under pressure from Anthony, then Anthony's 20-footer at the buzzer was off target.
In the third quarter, New York stretched a 5-point lead to 79-64 with 4:52 remaining after an Anthony layup. The Bulls found a defensive matchup it could exploit with Butler being guarded by Kidd and used that to make up ground. Chicago pulled within 82-80 when Robinson canned a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in the quarter.
The Knicks started out on fire, hitting their first six shots of the game and 11 of the first 14, while jumping to an early 23-6 lead. Once the Bulls settled in on defense, they closed to within 40-38 midway through the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Robinson.
There was a crazy sequence late in the first half. In a span of 10 seconds, Anthony drew three fouls -- two on Butler and one on Deng. Then Anthony got a technical for talking to Butler and Robinson was hit with a technical for riding Anthony. A few minutes later, Deng complained about a foul call and picked up the third technical of the half -- all given by veteran official Joe Crawford.
By halftime, the Knicks led 59-54 and were shooting better from 3-point range (53.8 percent) than on 2-pointers (47.1 percent).
NOTES: The Bulls moved a step closer to good health with the return of Deng, who missed the past two games with a sore hip. Chicago was without Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis), Taj Gibson (left knee sprain) and Derrick Rose (knee surgey). ... New York's injury report was heavy on big men. The Knicks didn't have Tyson Chandler (bulging disc), Kenyon Martin (sprained left ankle), Marcus Camby (plantar fasciitis), Amare Stoudemire (right knee), Rasheed Wallace (foot) and Kurt Thomas (foot). ... Out of necessity, New York started a front line of Anthony, Chris Copeland and Iman Shumpert. The 6-8 Copeland jumped center against Chicago's 6-7 Butler. ... Bulls guard Derrick Rose and New York forward Iman Shumpert are both Chicago natives, but have more than that in common. The two players suffered torn anterior cruciate ligaments in their left knee last year on April 28. While Rose is still working to come back, Shumpert returned to game action on Jan. 17 and has played in 41 games this season. Of course, Rose's job is to carry the Bulls, while Shumpert is a defensive-minded role player who averages 20 minutes per game. ... Anthony weighed in on the Rose watch at the morning shootaround. "I wish y'all would stop rushing Derrick back," Anthony said. "Please. He shouldn't come back until he's about 110 percent ready." ... The Knicks' longest all-time win streak is 18 games, set in 1969-70.
