Bulls Top Knicks 105-100 In “Big” December Game
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 | Chicago Bulls, NBA, Sports
If you can have a “big game” in December, this would have been it. With the Bulls 105-100 win over the re-vamped Knicks on Tuesday night, the Bulls got one game closer to .500 at 10-11 and vaulted into that coveted 8th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference race, with the honor of losing to the Boston Celtics in the 1st round of the playoffs. If you started laughing when you read that last sentence, it wasn’t meant to be funny.
After disappointing losses to the 76ers and Bucks on back-to-back nights last week, the Bulls have rebounded with consecutive wins over the Wizards and Knicks. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win, especially when your goal is to simply make the playoffs. The 4th through 8th seeds in the Eastern Conference playoff race will be contested by 9 different teams all season long, so every win counts.
The Bulls had a balanced offensive attack, with 6 different players in double-digit scoring. Drew Gooden led the team with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Derrick Rose turned in another solid effort – 15 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and only 3 turnovers in 40+ minutes. Ben Gordon chipped in 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while Larry Hughes came off the bench to score 16 points and grab 8 boards in only 28 minutes. Luol Deng (16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists) and Andres Nocioni (10 points) also played well after several weeks of mediocre play.
As for the Knicks, a former Bull almost cost the Bulls the game. Chris Duhon put in his best effort of the 2008-9 NBA season. In 45 minutes, Duhon scored 15 points and dished out 14 assists, and came within 1 rebound of a triple-double (he had 9 rebounds). Quentin Richardson chipped in 22 points and 8 rebounds, Al Harrington exploded for 28 points and 6 rebounds, and David Lee dropped in 11 points while grabbing 15 boards. The Knicks used only 7 players.
The Bulls have a chance to get back to .500 on Friday night with a game against the lowly Grizzlies in Memphis. If the Bulls can win that game, then the Bulls can make a big statement with a home game against the surprising New Jersey Nets who have exceeded expectations with an 11-8 start. Let’s hope the Bulls don’t look past the Grizzlies…
