Knicks fall to Bulls 124-123 behind a dramatic rally

In a heartbreaker at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks fell to the Chicago Bulls 124-123 in a game that had just about everything.

With one last chance, the ball was in Jalen Brunson’s hands for a potential game-winner. He launched a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer, and it seemed destined to drop—but it rolled in and out, leaving the Knicks just one point short in a gut-wrenching loss.

The Knicks had the lead, 123-121, until a costly foul on a three pointer by Josh Hart put Coby White at the line with just three seconds left. White calmly sank all three free throws, swinging the lead back to Chicago.

Down by as much as 22 late in the third, the Knicks nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages, only to see victory slip away in the final seconds.

The Knicks trailed 90-68 after a Zach LaVine two-pointer with just under four minutes left in the third quarter. But instead of folding, they clamped down on defense, holding Chicago scoreless for the rest of the quarter and sparking a fiery 17-0 run to kick off the fourth.

That cut Chicago’s lead to just five at 90-85, and from there, it was a back-and-forth battle to the finish. Every time the Knicks faced another deficit—119-115 with 2:15 left, 112-107 with four minutes to go—they fought back, determined to close the gap.

Karl-Anthony Towns put on an absolute show, dropping a season-high 46 points on 18-30 shooting, including 6-12 from beyond the arc, while also grabbing 10 rebounds. With all these, he made just half of his free throws (4-8).

“I was disappointed in that display of free-throw shooting by me. I expect to make them all. When you look back at the game, especially when you don’t come out with a win in a tough game like this, you look at everything that you could have done in the mirror. If I make a few of those free throws, at least two or three of them, you put your team in a different position.”

– Karl-Anthony Towns

Jalen Brunson added 24 points and 8 assists, and Mikal Bridges chipped in 20 of his own.

LaVine led the Bulls with 31 points, while White’s clutch free throws capped his 22-point night, and Nikola Vucevic added 19.

Up-next: The Knicks (5-6) will host the Nets (5-7) on Friday night.