Knicks 104, Bulls 89: Scenes from a relaxing win

That was... satisfying? To be honest, I’m really not too sure; I barely remember what “satisfied” feels like. It legitimately seems as if it’s been forever since the Knicks have had a game like tonight’s, where they held a comfortable lead pretty much the entire 48 minutes, but that was the case here. And in a national TV game, no less!

New York jumped out to a quick lead, led by 8 points from Derrick Rose, making his return to MSG after missing Monday’s game:

Carmelo Anthony had a nice start as well:

After trading buckets with Chicago for a while, the Knicks built a bit of a cushion, leading by 8 with about 9 minutes to go in the first half. But, of course, the Bulls immediately came storming back to take a small lead 3 minutes later. The game remained close until halftime, but New York’s offense did seem to be flowing nicely (even in the absence of Kristaps Porzingis):

(That video, and one coming a bit further down, both courtesy of our friend Christian Baber!)

Post-halftime, Melo (finished 23/9/6 on 10/19 FGs) and Rose (finished 17/4/3 on 7/15 from the field) continued their strong performances as the Knicks built another solid lead. But as you’ll see in the clip below, they weren’t the only ones putting the ball in the basket:

That’s right, we had a good Kyle O’Quinn game! Missed you, good Kyle:

Unlike Christian, I don’t think O’Quinn is always good, necessarily, but I can’t deny that when KOQ contributes, he contributes:

Oh! And guess who else stepped up big with Kristaps sidelined? CHEEEEESE! Everyone’s favorite 27-year-old rookie set a new career high with 19 points. Here’s a look at one of his many excellent 4th quarter moments:

And that was that. Good, clean win. Ironically, it almost feels dirty to say. Savor it while you can, friends. Because we’ve got the Raptors on Sunday.