Ben Krimmel Thu, October 29, 2026 at 2:50 AM UTC · 6 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Knicks looked lost at sea in the third quarter on Wednesday night in Chicago, but overturned a 19-point deficit to grab a 133-127 win over the Bulls.
Sequences looked incredibly familiar for those fans who labored through watching the first few games of New York's title defense: stagnant offense, turnovers, missed shots, and periods when the other side just looks fresher.
And in the middle quarters, it was the young Bulls who rampaged past the older Knicks with a 33-13 run to take an 87-68 lead with under five left in the third. That is when a Jalen Brunson -led charge saw the Knicks use a 22-7 run to enter the fourth down by just six.
Three minutes into the fourth, the Knicks had a lead, as the three-point shooting, which had been rather poor earlier, arrived. It was Karl-Anthony Towns , who poured in another double-double, and a trio of bench players who shined as Tyler Kolek , Landry Shamet , and Jordan Clarkson
And after the Knicks got the lead in the fourth, Brunson regained his familiar role as the closer, taking over with 13 points down the stretch, stretching the Knicks' lead to 10 points with a big crossover and three. The game tightened to just a three-point lead, but Josh Hart 's defensive rebound with under 10 seconds to play kept the game secure.
- Brunson was quiet for much of the game, but then took over midway through the second, knocking in seven straight for the Knicks to give him 11 points on 5-for-10 from the floor in the first. He added another five points in the second. The fourth quarter was all his as he put in his best performance of the season so far.
The best closer in basketball put on a show to finish with 38 points on 13-for-25 shooting (6-for-10 from three) with seven assists and a plus-3 in 35 minutes.
- Towns was in an awkward collision with Bulls forward Noa Essengue and stayed down in pain early in the first quarter. Towns got up holding his left wrist and was soon seen walking into the locker room. KAT would return just under four minutes later with tape around his left hand. The injury didn't appear to hamper him as he added an old-fashioned three-point play to finish the opening quarter with six points and five rebounds.
But then the foul trouble happened and limited his contribution for some time. In a span of just a few minutes late in the first and early in the second, he picked up his third personal just over four minutes into the quarter, and he had nine points and 11 rebounds at the half. After five fast points and an assist early in the third, he picked up his fourth and had to spend some more time on the bench.
But the fourth quarter was fine as he finished with 19 points (7-for-14 shooting, 3-for-6 from deep) with 13 rebounds and five assists and was a plus-5 in 28 minutes.
- Shamet sustained an unfortunate turn of the ankle early in the second, and that saw him head to the Knicks' locker room. He finished a dunk, started backing up the court, but got the back of his foot caught on a Bulls player's shoe and turned his right ankle. But, like Towns before him, he was back in the game a few minutes later.
When the Knicks needed him, he was there, turning it on in the second half as he poured in 14 points (4-for-7 from deep) with five assists to finish a plus-13 in 32 minutes.
- Clarkson, who did not play Tuesday against the Pistons, had six points in five first-half minutes. He added another big three early in the fourth and then added a pair of steals, setting up a Shamet three and a layup of his own to give the Knicks a five-point edge midway through the fourth.
- Kolek, getting minutes with Jose Alvarado sidelined with an ankle injury, took full advantage, leading several charges down the floor to score nine points (3-for-4 from deep) with nine assists, two rebounds, and was a plus-13 in 18 minutes.
- OG Anunoby started making his imprint early, with five fast points to start the second to give him 11. He finished with 23 points (7-for-16 shooting) and six rebounds, but was a minus-10 in 31 minutes.
- Offense isn't coming to Hart much again, and he had just two points in 17 first-half minutes with three rebounds, two assists, but was a minus-10. And he finished with just the two points on 1-for-6 shooting, but had eight rebounds (three offensive) and three assists and was a minus-2 in 36 minutes.
- Mikal Bridges picked up two fouls early and played just nine first-half minutes with three points on two shots. He was a minus-5 and played just 13 minutes in the game.
- Miles McBride had a terrible time in the first half with just three points on 1-for-9 shooting (1-for-7 from deep) with three personal fouls and a turnover. He did have five rebounds, a steal, and a block, but was a minus-5 in 14 minutes. He did not feature after the half.
Yes, this probably should go to Brunson. But the shine should go to a guy who played sparingly in the first four games of the season and was ready to light it up when his name was called. Clarkson finished with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting (2-for-3 from deep) with three rebounds, two steals, an assist, and was a team-high plus-15 in 17 minutes, which was the same number of minutes he had played on the year entering the game.
The Knicks are back in action on Friday night of mischief in the City of Brotherly Love for a 7:30 p.m. tip against the 76ers.
Source: Sports
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