Tom Thibodeau is not used to losing in Chicago. So it’s no surprise that the former Bulls coach was hostile to United Center, attacking the referees and their players in a desperate 110-102 defeat against the mediocre Bulls.
The Bulls broke a three-game losing streak as Thibodeau’s club fell in the worst four games of the season below .500 to 9-13. The Knicks have lost five of six games.
They were as cold as a snowstorm from the 3-point line and didn’t get any late clutch play.
After a turnover from Julius Randle, Bulls goalie Zach LaVine hit the dagger at 3 points with 22 seconds left to put Chicago at 6. LaVine, who could be in the commercial block soon, scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for Knicks comeback from an 11-point deficit.
The Knicks shot 6 of 29 from the 3-point line and failed in the final two minutes. With 3:00 left in the morning, new goalie Immanuel Quickley gave the Knicks their first lead from the start of the first quarter, when he drew a three-foot marker immediately 30 feet, putting them 95-94, but there was no more magic.
Alec Burks (18 points) tied the game at 100-100 with one minute left for 3 points. But Bulls point guard Coby White responded with a triple and Chicago didn’t look back.
Randle finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Quickley added 16 points and seven assists, but there was not enough support anywhere else.
After a ten-game streak in which he shot 50 percent, RJ Barrett seemed to meander at Windy City on the second night in a row. He finished with 14 points and missed all three triples, including a late open attempt.
Thibodeau looked irritated during the competition. After White fed an open Derrick Gafford inside to make it easy, Thibodeau called time out and attacked the team for the disorganized defense.
Thibodeau was making his third return to Chicago since being fired there in 2015 after five years of exceptional career as a Bulls coach.
Before the game, Thibodeau, a favorite of Windy City fans, was asked about the Chicago years.
“I think in 2010, it was a young team,” said Thibodeau, 2011 NBA coach of the year. “And we had a lot of room for caps. So we added a group of very hungry players: Derrick Rose really came out. Joakim Noah took off. Luol Deng played at All-Star level. But the union of this team, how difficult they played, the team they played, I think had an echo with the city.
The Bulls gained an 11-point lead in the second quarter as 2017 lottery selection Lauri Markannen killed the slow Knicks on their way to 30 points.
Behind Markannen’s 23 points in the first half, the Bulls led 59-55 at the break, with 54.8%.
Markannen, the 7-foot Finn, made 5 of 7 3-point shots in the half to finish the 8 of 11 from the field.
Randle, who rose, did not excel in defense against the European, but won 18 points in the first half against him, getting a series of fouls. Randle made 7 of 7 free throws in the half.
Markannen was the player with whom former Knicks president Phil Jackson was intrigued during the 2017 draft. Jackson tried to rip off an overproduction of Kristaps Porzingis and change, but ended up with Frank Ntilikina at number 8. Nttilikina, in his fourth season, he is now out of the Knicks rotation.
Quickley added eight points in the first half with six assists, though he didn’t shoot too soon after 25-point consecutive outings.
The Knicks fell back to 11 in the third quarter and Thibodeau was bouncing off the referees.
A final Knicks rally reduced the deficit to 3 after three quarters. Randle was the facilitator. He pulled a double team inside and threw a pass to Alec Burks, who collided in a corner 3.
The Knicks ’defense intensified and forced a rotation that resulted in Randle’s feeding on Nerlens Noel for a quick dive, leading the Knicks to 84-81 after three quarters.