Knicks erase 19-point deficit to beat Bulls for second straight win after Mikal Bridges benching
CHICAGO — Mikal Bridges was benched and the rest of the guards took over.Jalen Brunson, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek were all significant contributors to the 133-127 comeback victory by the Knicks over the Bulls on Wednesday night, combining for 52 points in the second half as the struggling Bridges watched from his seat.A day after collecting a DNP against the Pistons, Clarkson caught fire with 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter — shooting 7-for-11 overall.Shamet finished with 14 points and five assists in 32 minutes.
Kolek had nine points and nine assists.Brunson, who dropped 38 points, finished exquisitely, including a crossover-to-a-trey that wowed the crowd at the United Center.The Knicks (2-3) overcame a 19-point third-quarter deficit to win their second in two nights.But they also almost blew it.
With 25 seconds left and a 3-point lead, Karl-Anthony Towns flubbed a layup under the hoop.Chicago’s Norman Powell then missed a potential tying trey, and Brunson closed the win by hitting one of his two free throws.Bridges, who has alternated between missing shots and disappearing this season, was benched for all but three minutes of the second half.
He finished with just three points in 13 minutes, his shortest appearance as a Knick outside of the two times Bridges was subbed out in seconds to maintain his consecutive games streak.OG Anunoby was also on the bench down the stretch as Brown rode the hot hands of Shamet and Clarkson.The Knicks were operating on a back-to-back with an excuse to be tired.They had a late tipoff Tuesday in MSG, won a hard-fought game against the Pistons, then didn’t land in Chicago until about 3:30 a.m.
— less than 16 hours before tipoff against the Bulls.They didn’t respond well until the fourth quarter.Their sloppy first half ended, appropriately, with a blunder.Or maybe just confusion.Andre Drummond tipped in Josh Hart’s missed shot with one second left, but the refs negated the bucket becaus...