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Damn. All I wanted was to see Kristaps Porzingis finally score 30 points, but nooooo, the Bulls refused to foul him on the last possession of the game. Sore losers, that lot. Not that I blame them! The Knicks stink, yet they basically steamrolled Chicago tonight. That 8-point margin is not indicative of the game, which is very weird to say about a contest that New York won. It's true though. I promise.
The game was back and forth for most of the first half, with a short-lived 7-point Bulls lead being the largest margin in favor of either team. The story of the first two quarters (and the entire game), however, was Kristaps; he put up 17 points and 6 rebounds. He'll be factoring heavily into the highlights when I get there. The Knicks stormed out of the gate after halftime, turning a two-point deficit into a nine-point lead over the course of the third quarter. Before he sat with 3 minutes left in the period, Porzingis had racked up 25 points.
Not to be outdone, Nikola Mirotic countered Kristaps with a big-ass night for the Bulls. He had a 35-point night, fueled mostly by 9-13 shooting from beyond the arc. Like I implied in the heading, tonight really boiled down to Kristaps vs. Mirotic. (By the way, in the Batman v. Superman analogy, Kristaps is both Batman and Superman. Mirotic is Lex Luthor or some shit. Who cares, really?)
It really seemed like tonight was the 30-point night we'd all been waiting for. Sadly, our man sat for most of the fourth thanks to the large lead, and finished with only 29. Ah well. You'll get there, Kris. We all believe in you.
Here are some highlights:
Let's start with a bunch of Kristaps videos, presented without comment. Because if I did, I'd be soiling their perfection.
Kristaps Porzingis pulls the vet move on Pau Gasol https://t.co/5Xj217f5wf
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) March 24, 2016
REPLAY: @kporzee smashes this jam (4-6 FG) en route to 9 first quarter points. #NYKvsCHIhttps://t.co/yegRsAIOKF
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 24, 2016
That boy good. pic.twitter.com/pSOPK0gmNm
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) March 24, 2016
DID YOU JUST SEE PORZINGIShttps://t.co/L8RHt5n77whttps://t.co/ufd6rb5J0h
— SB Nation (@SBNation) March 24, 2016
Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony had a pretty nice game of his own:
Big bucket @carmeloanthony! #Knicks extend their lead to 112-101 w/ 2:24 left in the 4Q. #NYKvsCHI pic.twitter.com/lv7uJ83w8k
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 24, 2016
That's pretty much it. Kristaps is all you need. Joe's got your recap. More Kristaps words forthcoming!