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Bulls Beat Knicks in Double Overtime: Game Notes
By InsideHoops.comNovember 5, 2018
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THE STARTERS
Bulls: Cameron Payne, Zach LaVine, Justin Holiday, Jabari Parker and Wendell Carter Jr.
Knicks: Frank Ntilikina, Allonzo Trier, Damyean Dotson, Noah Vonleh and Mitchell Robinson.
FIRST QUARTER
Around 8:00, Bulls guard Zach Lavine faced his defender, operated off the dribble, penetrated and threw down a dunk that drew a reaction from anyone with a pulse.
A minute or so later, LaVine ran a 1-on-1 break, but out of nowhere a second Knick, rookie guard Allonzo Trier, flew through the air and swatted the shot away.
Low-scoring game so far: Tied at 14 with 3:11 left. The Bulls are shooting 36% FG, the Knicks 24%. There are a total of four assists in the game.
Noah Vonleh is making his mark for the Knicks: He's just 2-for-7 but has put up a solid seven points and five rebounds in the first.
LaVine is really fun to watch.
According to the Knicks, their starting lineup tonight, whose average age is 22 years and 100 days, is the youngest in Knicks team history.
End of first quarter: Bulls 24, Knicks 21. Vonleh has seven points, LaVine, Dotson and Blakeney have six.
SECOND QUARTER
Enes Kanter, who lately comes off the bench for the Knicks, has racked up seven points and seven rebounds in seven minutes.
At 9:48, Knicks rookie Kevin Knox, who has been injured, checked into the game. And a minute or so later, grabbed a steal and ran a 1-on-1 fast break, finishing with a nice dunk. A good sign he truly was okay to return today. Though the real test will be how he feels after the game or tomorrow morning.
New York Marathon winner Mary Keitany is here at the game and received some nice applause. Would challenge her to a race but I'm busy being focused on this game.
Leading the scoring column for the Bulls so far is guard Antonio Blakeney, with 12 points in nine minutes off the bench.
Mario Hezonja just hit a three from the parking lot. Impressive since there's no conventional outdoor parking lot around here. Maybe a few blocks away. It was a good shot.
Blakeney again, this time using speed and quickness. He has 14 now and has me paying attention to his game..
Half: Bulls 47, Knicks 47. LaVine has 15 points, Blakeney 14, Dotson 10, Kanter nine points and 10 rebounds, Vonleh nine points and eight rebounds, and Hezonja eight points. The Knicks are shooting just 33.3% FG but have 10 offensive rebounds to the Bulls' four. Free throws also mattered: The Knicks are 15-of-17, the Bulls 10-of-12.
THIRD QUARTER
The first 100 or so seconds of the third quarter featured five quick Knicks fouls.
Bulls rookie Wendell Carter Jr, who has been hitting the boards hard today, made some noise with a powerful dunk, putting Chicago up 54-49 at 9:35. He now has nine points and 10 rebounds.
At 7:28, third quarter scoring so far is Bulls 11, Knicks 2... Kanter has had enough. He posted up and basically forced his way to the free throw line, hitting both. Knicks down eight.
Knicks starters Ntilikina and Robinson haven't scored yet.
Just as I was pondering LaVine's game so far today, he took the ball, exploded towards the rim, spun and drew a foul. Both free throws good. Bulls up nine at 5:27.
Knicks guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who has barely played this season but in the two previous games got some decent minutes, just swished a three from the left corner. He now has seven points on seven shots. Knicks down four.
Tracy Morgan is here at the game.
End of third quarter: Bulls 78, Knicks 72. The Knicks are shooting just 37.1% FG but still in this... LaVine has 18 points, Blakeney 17, Kanter 15 points and 14 rebounds, Dotson 14 points, Jabari Parker 13 points and six rebounds, and Carter Jr. 11 points and 12 rebounds.
FOURTH QUARTER
Kanter's intensity with the ball down low keeps paying dividends. It won't be shocking if he eventually returns to the starting lineup.
Hezonja is doing things... And so is Bulls rookie Chandler Hutchison, who off the court is great to talk to and has a head on his shoulders.
Kanter's hustle continues to matter.
A hectic sequence resulted in a wide-open three for Justin Holiday, putting the Bulls up four at 6:46. The game has picked up intensity this quarter as both teams realize this thing is winnable.
During a timeout, the big screen at MSG caught a fan dipping what appeared to be a chicken tender into her soda. She handled it with grace, smiling and waving at the camera. As for the dip, questions remain. An explanation is needed.
Kanter is working. He's up to 21 points and 19 rebounds. At 3:30 the game is tied at 93.
LaVine is taking over. After a splash from outside, he's up to 31 points. Bulls up five with around two minutes left. But the Knicks answered. And then a Trier three tied it at 102 with 48 seconds left.
Big block by Vonleh with 30 seconds left. Bulls retain possession, but after a miss the ball goes out of bounds and goes to the Knicks with 25.9 seconds left.
With game seconds ticking down and the game tied, Trier went for it. The result:
OVERTIME
Enes Kanter now has 23 points, 20 rebounds and six assists on 8-of-12 shooting.
Neither team is able to pull away in OT. It's now Knicks ball, tie game with 19.2 seconds left. Trier drives, and gets soundly blocked by Robin Lopez. Knicks ball with 4.1 seconds left. And after a timeout, the Knicks inboundpass is stolen by Justin Holiday, who calls timeout. Bulls ball with 2.8 seconds left.
The inbounds pass goes to LaVine, who tries to operate but was called for stepping out of bounds. Knicks ball, tie game, 1.0 seconds left.
Kanter attempts a deep, wild three at the buzzer, and...
DOUBLE OVERTIME
Trier from outside. Splash. The kid has talent.
LaVine now has 33 points, four assists, two steals, two blocks and seven turnovers. Kanter has 23 points, 23 rebounds and seven assists. Trier has 19 points. Dotson 18. Blakeney 17.
LaVine almost snatched a steal that would have led to him dunking possibly from halfcourt, roughly. But the ball was tipped out of bounds. But soon after, he went to the line. Game is now tied at 113 with a minute left. And then LaVine penetrated for a bucket to put Chicago up two.
And... Mudiay fouls LaVine with TWO TENTHS OF A SECOND left in double overtime while game was tied. LaVine hits first free throw, misses second, time expires, Bulls win.
Final score: Bulls 116, Knicks 115, 2OT.
LaVine finished with 41 points on 13-of-25 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and eight turnovers. Kanter totalled 23 points, 24 rebounds and seven assists. Trier had 21. Dotson 18. Blakeney 17.
That was an EVENT!