The defense has carried the Knicks in the first four games, but it didn’t show up on Friday night in Chicago.
The Bulls used their fast-paced offense to keep the Knicks defenders on skates, en route to a 135-125 win to stay undefeated and send New York to its third straight loss.
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After a quick start, the Bulls pulled away in the second quarter and built a 19-point halftime lead. They did that thanks to shooting 59.5 percent from the field (48 percent from three) in the first half. They dished 17 assists and had just two turnovers.
And although the Knicks fought back in the second half, thanks to improved defense, it was too much to overcome.
“Tonight, we lacked the physicality that we wanted to have, and that we’ve been showing on the defensive end of the floor,” coach Mike Brown said after the game. “Our ability to guard the basketball was not good in the first half. We were getting blown by possession after possession after possession, and guys were finishing at the rim with no help defense there. And if we did bring help, they sprayed the ball, like they play, and we didn’t get the shooters. We didn’t close with a purpose. And get to their airspace to make them uncomfortable shooting the basketball.
“Our defense tonight in the first half, especially, — in the second half we were a little better — was non-existent, and it starts with guarding the basketball. We have to be guarding better, going to the basketball, and it has to be with a sense of physicality, because if we don’t, teams are going to do exactly what Chicago did tonight on the offensive end of the floor.”
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“We didn’t give up, but the way we started, just unacceptable,” Jalen Brunson said after the loss.
The Knicks did cut the Bulls’ lead to three points in the fourth quarter, but Chicago pulled away late once New York’s shots stopped falling. It was a frustrating first-half display, and one the Knicks captain didn’t necessarily have an answer for. But he did allude to the team not sticking with Brown’s game plan to combat the Bulls.
“Didn’t have any game plan discipline. We didn’t do what was asked of us,” he said. “Coach comes out with a game plan and it’s on us to deliver. I mean, we can’t switch the game plan if we’re not doing the game plan hard enough.”
After starting the season 2-0, the Knicks have dropped three straight. Friday saw a season-high in points for the Knicks, but it’s now back-to-back games where the defense has allowed 120-plus points. They’ll try to end their losing streak on Sunday when they take on the Bulls again, this time at MSG.
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Patience needed for bench
Another aspect of the Knicks’ loss on Friday was the disparity in the bench points.
In the first half, the Knicks’ bench scored just 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting. In comparison, the Bulls bench scored 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting. For the game, Chicago’s reserves outscored New York’s 53-21.
Brown was asked whether there’s a fix to the bench scoring and the first-year Knicks coach preached patience.
“I thought Landry [Shamet] had great looks tonight. I thought Deuce [McBride] had great looks tonight. I thought Jordan [Clarkson] had some decent looks, and so, we got to give it a little time first before I’m too worried about it,” Brown said. “But our bench does have to play better. We got to knock those shots down, we got to finish at the rim when we get there or try to get up transition to get a couple easy ones from those guys coming off the bench. And right now, we’re not doing any of it.”
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McBride, returning to the team after missing two games for personal reasons, had a team-high eight points off the bench. Clarkson was next with six points, followed by Shamet with four and Guerschon Yabuesele with three. Josh Hart and Tyler Kolek were the only other bench players to see minutes on Friday, and they were held scoreless.