Bulls Two Game Recap

The Chicago Bulls’ bench couldn’t beat the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, but the team did snap the 13-game winning streak of the New York Knicks tonight.

Bad News

Two days ago, the Bulls lost to the Raptors 101-98. The game started off horribly for Chicago. Due to poor defense and a rough start on offense, the Bulls were down by 15 points early on in the first quarter. Although Jimmy Butler had an amazing game and career-high 28 points, 7 rebounds and two assists, and Nate Robinson added 22 points, it wasn’t enough for a Chicago win. The Bulls relied too heavily on the two to carry the team since most of our starters (Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and obviously Derrick Rose) were out of commission. The only starter on the court, Carlos Boozer, was two assists shy of a triple-double (19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists).

On the Raptors’ end, Kyle Lowry had 13 points and 10 assists, and the duo of Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan had a combined total of 39 points that extended Toronto’s lead into double digits once again in the second half.

The Raptors shot 51% from the field compared to the Bulls’ 43%. Toronto also outscored Chicago 16-9 in fast break points.

Good News

The Bulls beat the Knicks tonight 118-111 in an exciting overtime game. Nate Robinson scored a season-high 35 points in 32 minutes off the bench (14 of which were in the second quarter alone), Jimmy Butler had a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, Carlos Boozer also had a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds, Rip Hamilton added 14 points and eight assists in 25 minutes, and Luol Deng (who returned from a hip injury) finished with 16 points.

On the Knicks’ end Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points and six rebounds, JR Smith contributed 28 points off the bench and Chris Copeland scored 14 points in 29 minutes. New York’s Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby were all out of commission. The Knicks had a 14-0 run and led the Bulls by 17 in the first quarter. In the second half, the Bulls managed to erase a 15 point deficit. And in overtime, the Knicks made only 3 of 11 shots and were outscored by Robinson alone leading to the Bulls’ victory.

The Bulls are the only team in the Eastern Conference the Knicks didn't beat this season. Chicago swept the regular season series 4-0.