Knicks coach Mike Brown had a feeling. A feeling that the Knicks discovered something in the second half of their 10-point loss to the Bulls in Chicago on Friday.
The first test of that theory came on Sunday night in a rematch with the Bulls at the Garden. The Knicks passed.
Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 31 points and the Knicks hit 20 three-pointers in a 128-116 victory. The Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak after they had opened the season with two wins.
It was a well-rounded effort. OG Anunoby scored 21 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Jordan Clarkson scored 15 points off the bench, and Josh Hart (14 points, nine rebounds) had his best game of the season.
The youthful Bulls, who are coached by Rockville Centre’s Billy Donovan, had won their first five games. Josh Giddey led Chicago with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
On Friday, in a 135-125 loss, the Knicks outscored the Bulls 72-63 in the second half. Brown saw a spark.
“Even after our first two wins, I said, ‘Hey, we can play better. We got the win, but we got to play much better,’ ” Brown said. “So after that second win, I think if you include preseason, we were six and one or whatever, but we were learning and growing. We had played well. Our two best halves of basketball were in the first half in Milwaukee and second half in Chicago [both losses], and hopefully we can string 48 minutes together, but it’s a process. But our guys are getting better . . . We all have to be better. Start with me. And we will be better.”
Accountability was on display early in the game as Mikal Bridges called out his Knicks teammates (except for Brunson) for failing to get back on defense on a Chicago fastbreak that ended with a basket to tie the score at 10.
As Brown called a timeout, Bridges jawed with Anunoby, who along with Towns and Mitchell Robinson didn’t bust it to help on defense. The basket was scored on a putback by Isaac Okoro after Bridges had deflected a shot by Matas Buzelis.
Would’ve been nice to have another rebounder back is what Bridges seemed to be very colorfully saying to his teammates.
After the timeout, the Knicks outscored the Bulls 24-14 and led 34-24 after one as Brunson scored 19.
Chicago briefly took the lead in the second quarter, but the Knicks went into the half leading 68-60 and pulled away in the third, going up by as many as 25 points. The Knicks led 105-89 going into the fourth.
Robinson, who made his season debut on Friday after sitting with a left ankle issue, exited Sunday’s game early in the third with an apparent right foot/ankle injury after landing awkwardly. But he returned later in the quarter and finished with no points, five rebounds and two blocks in 13:21.
Would Brown play Robinson two in a row and three games in four nights? We’ll find out on Monday, when the Knicks host Washington.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
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