Knicks 135, Bulls 105: Brunson's 22-Point First Quarter Buries Chicago

Wednesday night in Manhattan was decided in about twelve minutes.

The Bulls fell 105-135 to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, dropping to 1-7 on the season and 1-5 on the road with their sixth straight loss. New York, which opened the year 0-3, has now won four of five and sits at 4-4.

Brunson Ends It Early

Jalen Brunson finished with 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 8-of-9 from the free-throw line and 5-of-10 from three. Twenty-two of those points came in the first quarter alone, when he went 8-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-5 from deep.

New York used an 8-0 run to erase an early 6-4 deficit and never trailed again, taking a 43-21 lead out of the first quarter. The Knicks poured in 41 more in the second for an 84-52 halftime lead — the first time in franchise history they have scored 40 or more in each of the first two quarters of a game. The 84 also matched their record for points in an opening half, set on Nov. 18, 1988 in Philadelphia.

OG Anunoby added 18 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Dalton Knecht scored 10 in his Knicks debut, and Jordan Clarkson had 10 off the bench.

The Numbers Behind It

Bulls: 37-of-96 from the field (39%), 10-of-44 from three (23%), 21-of-28 from the line
Knicks: 44-of-87 (51%), 17-of-40 (43%), 30-of-37 (81%)
Rebounding: New York 57, Chicago 34, including 17 Knicks offensive boards
Largest lead: 44 points, 111-67, on Miles McBride's four-point play with 3:23 left in the third quarter. Chicago never got closer than 30 the rest of the way.

What the Bulls Got

Tre Jones led Chicago with 14 points and four assists in 18 minutes off the bench. Jaylin Sellers matched him with 14, hitting 4-of-7 from three. Matas Buzelis and Norman Powell each scored 12, and Josh Giddey finished with 10 points and six assists.

The starters' shooting was the problem: Caleb Wilson went 2-of-12 for five points and Norman Powell 3-of-12, part of a night where Chicago's first unit never found a rhythm against a Knicks defense that got to spend the second half playing from ahead.

The Number That Matters

Every Bulls opponent this season has scored at least 124 points. Wednesday was more of the same — New York got to 135 on 51% shooting while winning the glass by 23 — and it followed the same script as the Knicks' 133-127 win in Chicago on Oct. 28.

Eight games in, the pattern is set: Chicago can score, but it cannot get stops, and against a team that makes shots early the game gets away fast.

Up Next

The Bulls host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday at the United Center.

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