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Knicks' Win Streak Broken In Overtime Loss to Bulls

CHICAGO—They knew it couldn't last forever, but they probably didn't want to watch it end like this.

The Knicks had their NBA-best 13-game win streak snapped in the Windy City late Thursday, losing by a score of 118-111 to the Bulls in an overtime game New York once appeared to have by the throat.

Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points but couldn't will the Knicks to a win. ENLARGE
Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points but couldn't will the Knicks to a win. Getty Images

When the final buzzer sounded, Knicks players didn't seem overly disappointed; instead they slapped hands with each other, likely realizing the loss didn't mean all that much in the grand scheme of things.

But on some level, the defeat had to be a frustrating one. The Knicks (51-27) led by as much as 17 in the first quarter, and 15 in the third, only to watch the Bulls come back to beat them. And with the win, Chicago—the same team that snapped Miami's 27-game win streak last month at the United Center—took a four-game regular-season sweep over the Knicks with its victory.

Even after blowing the big leads, the Knicks had their chances. Carmelo Anthony (36 points, 19 rebounds) tied the score, 105 all, with a pair of free throws with 14.5 seconds remaining in regulation. But he missed a buzzer-beating shot that would've won the contest, and instead it went to overtime.

The extra period—which got off to a scary start for the Knicks, who watched guard Raymond Felton fall to the ground in pain before playing through an apparent knee injury—belonged to the Bulls from start to finish. Chicago's Nate Robinson (35 points) got the overtime's first basket and was fouled, giving the Bulls a three-point edge that they never relinquished.

Thursday's outcome would've been hard to believe for anyone who saw the game in the early going, when the Knicks picked up right where they left off Tuesday in their victory over Washington. The Knicks sank eight of their first 10 shots and five of their first eight three-pointers to open the game. Six minutes into the game, they owned a 17-point lead, 23-6, over the playoff-bound Bulls.

But the big advantage didn't last that long. Before the quarter ended, Chicago had cut it to four. The Knicks got one last triple—a 25-foot three by sixth man J.R. Smith that gave them an NBA-record breaking 842 on the season—and went into the second quarter with a 30-23 edge.

Things slowed down considerably in the second, when a spate of fouls, both personal and technical, were called. The period saw 14 personal foul calls and three technicals (including one on Jimmy Butler, who, by drawing a tech on Anthony, showed himself to be somewhat prescient. He'd said before the game that he thought Anthony was vulnerable because he lacked on-court composure).

The Bulls took advantage, trimming their deficit to three at one point before the Knicks walked into the half with a 59-54 lead.

The meeting was the third between the playoff-bound teams this season. On paper, beating Chicago wasn't all that important, especially when one considers that both teams were undersized and short-handed—especially in the post, where both the Bulls and Knicks were missing injured all-star centers (Joakim Noah and Tyson Chandler; not to mention the Bulls missing former MVP Derrick Rose, who is rehabbing after suffering an ACL tear last year).

But from a symbolic standpoint, the victory would have been nice for the Knicks. Had they beaten the Bulls, the Knicks would have defeated every team in the Eastern Conference at least once during the season, something they haven't done since 2000-01.

The game got away from the Knicks in the third quarter, though, and the Bulls took full advantage. New York only committed three turnovers in the quarter, but two—both tossed right into the hands of Chicago's Butler—ended in dunks going the other way, which got the United Center crowd back into the game. The Bulls also had a trio of three-pointers in the period, which the Knicks escaped, leading 82-80.

A Carlos Boozer basket knotted the game at 82-82 with 11 minutes left. And on the following possession, the Bulls took their first lead since the first quarter when Kirk Hinrich rebounded his own miss, then found Rip Hamilton for a triple to make it 85-84, Chicago.

There's still an outside chance the teams could meet in the opening round of the playoffs, which could spell trouble for the Knicks. But for now, they'll focus on the back end of their back-to-back, a Friday game against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, in hopes of starting a new streak.

Write to Chris Herring at

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