{"id":697771,"date":"2026-04-04T13:29:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T13:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697771\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T13:29:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T13:29:52","slug":"knicks-embrace-change-of-pace-as-they-get-off-to-needed-fast-start-against-bulls-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697771\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks embrace change of pace as they get off to needed fast start against Bulls"},"content":{"rendered":"

When asked about the Knicks\u2019 recent slow starts before Friday\u2019s matchup with the Bulls, Josh Hart was candid.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something the team\u2019s dealt with for multiple years, and he couldn\u2019t pinpoint why.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been getting off to slow starts for two years now,\u201d Hart said. \u201cIf I had the answers, we would be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In their past four games before Friday, the Knicks had varying first-quarter results, trailing early in losses to Charlotte<\/a>, Oklahoma City<\/a> and Houston<\/a> before a 48-point frame kick-started a win over Memphis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Guard<\/p>\n

Guard Josh Hart of the New York Knicks makes a jumping pass over forward Patrick Williams #44 of the Chicago Bulls during the first half at Madison Square Garden on April 3, 2026, in New York, NY. Jason Szenes for the New York Post<\/p>\n

But on Friday against the Bulls, the Knicks looked like a completely different animal. They jumped up 20-1 and held Chicago without a basket until seven minutes in. That led to a 78-41 halftime advantage, putting the game away early.<\/p>\n

The Knicks eventually prevailed 136-96<\/a>, maintaining their position as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with four regular-season games remaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight we started the right way, and when we do, we might jump on somebody,\u201d Knicks head coach Mike Brown said postgame. \u201cIt\u2019s about making our opponents feel us executing our defense the right way every possession, not giving up any easy baskets in transition and finishing it with the defense rebound.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Before the game, Brown credited the Knicks\u2019 recent sluggish starts to poor defense. With the playoffs on the horizon<\/a>, his team had to start on the right foot.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it has been our defense,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIn the first quarter, we\u2019re 19th [in the league] right now, and fourth quarter, we\u2019re first by a mile. So for us to bring that same sense of urgency to start the games defensively, it\u2019s going to be big for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Against Charlotte, the Knicks were down 24-14 early and eventually trailed by 21. Versus the Thunder, they started down seven. In Houston, those struggles were glaring when they faced an early 22-5 deficit.<\/p>\n

But across their past two games \u2014 albeit against subpar opponents \u2014 the Knicks have improved.<\/p>\n

\"Guard<\/p>\n

Guard Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks drives down court as forward Isaac Okoro of the Chicago Bulls defends during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Jason Szenes for the New York Post<\/p>\n

The Knicks led the Grizzlies by 17 after one half. Hart credited the offensive success to aggressive ball movement. Friday, that stretched to a whopping 37-point halftime lead.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTonight, we just came out with a different energy,\u201d Miles McBride said. \u201cThe first five really set a tone, and the bench follows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early on, the Knicks had success wanted inside, accruing 40 first-half points in the paint. Usually known for his rebounding<\/a>, Mitchell Robinson dropped 15 of his 17 points in the opening half \u2014 his most in a game since mid-December.<\/p>\n

Defensively, they lived up to Brown\u2019s wishes, too. Chicago had one point and zero made buckets until about five minutes left in the first quarter and shot 35 percent at halftime.<\/p>\n

The blistering start helped New York easily close out the win. For a team looking like it was headed south, it was a welcome sign as the postseason looms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When asked about the Knicks\u2019 recent slow starts before Friday\u2019s matchup with the Bulls, Josh Hart was candid.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3771],"tags":[7,920,919,329,3824,292,3891,14219,327,304,2715,1247,6,1136,475],"class_list":{"0":"post-697771","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bulls","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bulls","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-bulls","12":"tag-chicagobulls","13":"tag-houston","14":"tag-isaac-okoro","15":"tag-jason-szenes","16":"tag-josh-hart","17":"tag-knicks","18":"tag-miles-mcbride","19":"tag-mitchell-robinson","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-new-york","22":"tag-oklahoma-city"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116346687200680592","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}