:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48395131/usa-today-9005741.0.jpg)
The Bulls were definitely short-handed and definitely tired after they played a game and a half Friday night. They're still the Bulls and they still played some defense, so the Knicks wiping away a bad start, continuously building their lead, and taking their fourth straight win in a blowout is extremely good stuff. I think that was my favorite win of the season so far. Let's look at a few pictures of it!
Melo started cold. The Bulls started hot. Things smoothed out. Arron Afflalo started digging them out of the hole with 3 of his 18 points -- he went truly wild in the third:
After falling behind by 10, an Afflalo 3-ptr jump starts the #Knicks offense on a 7-0 run. #NYKvsCHI pic.twitter.com/Zm5MIC7pZV
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 20, 2015
Melo got back on a productive, impressive track by working his way to the rim:
That's nice, especially on iffy legs in a back-to-back, and those drives seemed to get the rest of his game going:
So the starters undid their own mess to get New York back into the game, then the bench friends pushed it into takeover mode. Lance Thomas made a big difference with his defense and uncanny bucketry:
Derrick Williams made a couple absurdly athletic plays:
.@DWXXIII w/ the nifty move en route to the jam! #Knicks lead 34-22 w/ 6:24 to go in the half. #NYKvsCHI pic.twitter.com/9AKvZXmMzZ
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 20, 2015
And a team-wide initiative to push off makes and misses alike made me soooo happy and got the Knicks soooo many nice buckets:
Looooove Jose pushing off a make. Loooove Afflalo attacking forcefully at the end of it. Not stuff you see every day!
And here, have some Kristaps. Porzingis had a fairly quiet night, but definitely did some thangs:
KRISTAPS RODMAN https://t.co/JToiMyFB0F
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) December 20, 2015
Kristaps is 7’3 https://t.co/u37n2tZ0Uf
— Daniel (@benchwarmerdan) December 20, 2015
WORLDSTAR with the and-one pic.twitter.com/K1IDlutVvM
— vineydelnegro (@vineydelnegro) December 20, 2015
Beautiful. Shout-out to Kyle O'Quinn as well -- rebounding, defending, and making some lovely feeds to help Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant get engaged. Applause all around.
Again -- tired opponent, for sure, but that's still a very good defense, and the Knicks snapped into shape and found the right way to attack it. They didn't let Chicago's top scorers kill them, and they cleaned up misses reasonably well on both ends. The rotation looked smart, the players looked sharp, and I am very satisfied indeed. Wonderful way to get back to .500.