Hardaway leads Knicks past Bulls

[March 20, 2018]  A resurgent Tim Hardaway Jr. had 22 points to lead the New York Knicks to their first back-to-back wins since late January with a 110-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

Cristiano Felicio had 17 points and Antonio Blakeney and Bobby Portis both had 16 off the bench to lead the Bulls, who were without three of their most important players -- Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen -- as they lost for the third time in four games.

Hardaway, who went through a cold streak in early February, topped 20 points for the fifth time in eight games (with 19 points in two of the other games), going 7-for-15 from the field with four 3-pointers. Hardaway had 17 of his points in the third quarter, when the Knicks broke the game open. A Hardaway three with 2:35 left in the third gave New York a 20-point lead, and Chicago never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

New York, which was without top defender Lance Thomas (personal reasons), gained some momentum toward the end of the first half, when it outscored Chicago 11-0 over the last five minutes to close the second quarter.

Enes Kanter added 10 points and 13 rebounds (five offensive) for the Knicks, who had five bench players with at least seven points.

Felicio was the only Chicago starter who scored in double figures. Point guard Justin Holiday had zero points on 0-for-6 shooting (0-for-5 from 3) for Chicago.

 

Knicks small forward Tim Hardaway Jr. (3) controls the ball as Chicago Bulls small forward David Nwaba (11) defends during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Knicks shot just 44.8 percent from the field but held Chicago to 35.9 percent shooting and 10 percent from 3-point range (3 of 30).

The Bulls return home on Wednesday for a short two-game homestand against Denver and Milwaukee (Friday) before heading on a four-game road trip.

After wrapping up their longest home stand since early November, the Knicks play at Miami on Wednesday before coming back to Madison Square Garden on Friday against Minnesota.

--Field Level Media

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