Chicago Bulls: 2 studs, 1 dud, from tight win over the Knicks

A sort of too close for comfort win for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls arrived on the road against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on the night of Dec. 2. The Bulls got their second win in a row, and a big one to continue solidifying their spot in the Eastern Conference standings, by topping the Knicks for the second time in three tries this season.

This was the first meeting for the Bulls with the Knicks on the road early on in the regular season. The previous two meetings for the Bulls and Knicks came at the United Center in Chicago. But the Bulls and Knicks split the first two matchups of the regular season.

Star duo of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan leads the Chicago Bulls to a close win over the Knicks on Dec. 2

The Bulls got the edge with a big win on the road over the Knicks on this night. And this at least guarantees that the Bulls will split the four matchups against the Knicks this season. But this will be the final meeting for a good while now for the Bulls against the Knicks. The next game between the Bulls and Knicks will take place in late March 2022.

Moreover, the Bulls came out firing in this game. They established a double-digit lead almost right away in the first quarter. But the Bulls started to waver after that point, especially in the third quarter. The Knicks beat the Bulls by a dozen points in the third quarter and even took the lead once in the fourth.

Nonetheless, some of the bigger names and closers for the Bulls came through when it mattered most again. Here’s a look into two studs, and one dud, for the Bulls in this key 119-115 win over the Knicks on the road on Dec. 2.