Mitchell Robinson scores career-high as the Knicks beat the Bulls

After a long six game losing streak, the Knicks finally got a break when they hosted the Chicago Bulls last night. In spite of the season being mathematically lost following the defeat handled by the Sixers on Thursday, the Knicks’ young core looked hungry and went straight at their opponents.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by New York Knicks 🏀 (@nyknicks) on Feb 29, 2020 at 2:56pm PST

Mitchell Robinson had a career night with 23 points and 10 rebounds off the bench that went along with a couple of blocks and a couple of assists. RJ Barrett had 19 points and the first 17 were dropped by halftime. The rookie was close to flawless from the field, shooting 8-10, including 3-4 from behind the arc. Sophomore Kevin Knox had his share of fun too with 10 buckets and 6 boards.

“RJ was so sharp that first half and he played within the game. Mitchell obviously was outstanding and you have to mention Kevin Knox. The lead was coming down, he’s got four offensive rebounds, he’s making the energy plays, putting us back in it then hits the big shot, he’s defending multiple positions, i think it was an outstanding game for him, he greatly impacted the second half as well.”

– Mike Miller

With a little over 2 minutes left in the second quarter, the Knicks embarked on a 13-0 run to put them up 70-53, a lead that the Bulls needed more than a quarter to cut it to two points but that’s the closest they got. As time was running out, the Knicks went on another 10 point lead in the final two minutes, never looking back.

Elfrid Payton, who scored just 3 last night in 33 minutes, has combined 31 assists in the last 3 games, constantly feeding Robinson with alley-oops. Taj Gibson, who missed the previous game to back spasms returned and scored 17 points grabbing 8 rebounds. Julius Randle did his thing and posted another double-double with 22 and 10.

The Bulls were led by Zach LaVine’s 26 points, followed by his backup, Coby White who dropped 22 off the bench.