Preview: Bulls at Knicks

[April 04, 2017]  The Chicago Bulls played their way back into the top eight in the Eastern Conference and can end up as high as the No. 5 seed with a strong finish. The New York Knicks, who host the Bulls on Tuesday, aren't likely to put up much of a fight after losing injured Derrick Rose for the season and reducing All-Star Carmelo Anthony's minutes.

Chicago looked ready to slip out of the race completely before winning four straight and six of the last eight to pull into the No. 7 spot in the East, one game behind the sixth-place Atlanta Hawks and two behind the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls, who finish the season with five straight games against teams outside of the playoff race, have very little margin for error with the ninth-place Indiana Pacers sitting one game behind and the 10th-place Charlotte Hornets two back. The Knicks dropped 10 of their last 13 but threw some chaos into the race at the bottom of the East by knocking off the Miami Heat on Friday before falling to the first-place Boston Celtics on Sunday. New York is getting its young players more involved over the final weeks of the season and will have a chance to impact the playoff races with remaining games against Chicago, Washington, Memphis and Toronto.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN Chicago, MSG (New York)

ABOUT THE BULLS (38-39): All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler is carrying the team of late and poured in 39 points in Sunday's 117-110 win in New Orleans while going 3-of-3 from 3-point range and 14-of-26 from the floor. Butler is forming a strong duo with veteran point guard Rajon Rondo, who is back in a featured role after bouncing in and out of the rotation earlier in the season. Rondo just missed a triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on Sunday and is averaging 15 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists during the four-game winning streak.

ABOUT THE KNICKS (29-48): New York announced on Sunday that Rose would undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The former MVP, 28, who is a free agent this summer and is already a veteran of ACL surgery on the left knee and meniscus surgery on the right knee, averaged 18 points and 4.4 assists in 64 games for the Knicks and has publicly said that he wants to return next season. "it's tough for Derrick," New York coach Jeff Hornacek told reporters. "He has played hard all year. He had worked hard last summer with yoga and those kinds of things to get his body in great shape. I feel bad for him."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bulls SF Bobby Portis scored 21 points on Sunday after going scoreless in 17 minutes against Atlanta the previous night.

2. Knicks rookie G Ron Baker started the last three games in place of Rose and averaged 6.7 points.

3. New York took each of the first two meetings, including a 104-89 home triumph on Jan. 12.

PREDICTION: Bulls 109, Knicks 96

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