Both the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks are fighting for playoff positioning. In the case of the Bulls, that just means battling with the Atlanta Hawks for the ninth seed and home-court advantage in the 9-10 Play-In game. But for the Knicks, it means scrapping with four other teams for seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
On Friday night, the two teams squared off, and the Bulls got the better of the Knicks. Chicago earned a wire-to-wire victory over New York thanks, in part, to a monster performance from Javonte Green, who just recently rejoined the Bulls. It was a tough loss for an injury-plagued Knicks team.
After the game, Jalen Brunson praised the Bulls for how they played in the win. (H/t ESPN)
“They played with more energy and more pace than we did,” Brunson said. “That’s two games in a row where we were down big early. We just can’t allow that to happen.”
Brunson ended the night with 35 points, six rebounds, and 11 assists.