3 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ 114-91 home loss against the New York Knicks

The New York Knicks dominated the game and beat the Chicago Bulls 114-91 last night.

© Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks outscored the Chicago Bulls 56-38 in the second half and destroyed them 114-91 last night.

Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 17 points, but he had five turnovers, and DeMar DeRozan added 14 points in the loss. “We played like (expletive),” DeRozan said after the game, which sums up why the Knicks ran the Bulls off the court.

The Bulls didn’t contain Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson was the difference-maker on Wednesday’s 128-120 overtime loss, and he was phenomenal on Friday too. Brunson had 22 points and 6 assists on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from deep. He also recorded 3 steals and grabbed 2 rebounds.

Brunson has scored 11 points or more and dished out at least 6 assists in four of his last five games. He’s averaging 17.8 points and 6.6 assists in that span. He’s been an offensive catalyst this season, averaging 20.5 points and 6.3 assists with a usage rate of 25.2 percent.

Three-point defense and the possession battle

The Knicks entered Wednesday last in the NBA from three-point range (39.1%), but they shot well above their baseline in these two games against the Bulls. New York went 18-of-34 (52.9%) from beyond the arc on Wednesday and 17-of-44 (38.6%) on Friday.

The Bulls were decent from the field in these two games; they made 54.8% of their shots on Wednesday and 46.8% on Friday, but they lost both games because the Knicks dominated the possession battle, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds that generated 14 second-chance points.

New York also forced 20 turnovers, which led to 24 points. The Knicks attempted 92 field goals, while the Bulls shot the ball 77 times.

Poor offensive rebounding

The Bulls played well in the first quarter, but the Knicks outplayed them for the rest of the game, outscoring them 85-59 in the last three quarters. The Bulls gave up; they didn’t show up in the fourth quarter, scoring only 16 points.

Like Wednesday, the offensive glass was an issue, with reserve center Andre Drummond falling into early foul trouble with three fouls in two minutes in the first quarter. The Knicks took advantage and grabbed 5 offensive rebounds in the first four minutes of the second quarter alone.

The Bulls’ Big Three of DeRozan, LaVine, and Vucevic combined for 40 points, and this team won’t win many games unless they step up offensively.