Knicks stunned by Bulls in loss to spoil RJ Barrett outburst

By the time of the fourth quarter, chants of “RJ Barrett” filled the sold-out backyard every time the Knicks star walked to the line for the free throws.

And yet, despite a monster game from Barrett, in which he dropped 44 points on the Bulls, the Knicks couldn’t get away from Chicago all night. That, along with a few brutal free throw shots, came back to haunt them.

As the game ended, the dominant sound was that of stunned silence as DeMar DeRozan nailed a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to carry the Bulls to a 118-117 victory over the Knicks on Friday night.

One of the best games of Barrett’s career was a vain one. As the Knicks clung to a one-point lead in the final minute, Barrett again drove to the net and landed a tough shot that sank to make it a 117-114 lead with 29.4 seconds left. player.

The Bulls then missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but the Knicks couldn’t grab the rebound and Zach LaVine took advantage with a bucket that made it 117-116 with 7.1 seconds left. player.

Jalen Brunson had a chance to extend the Knicks’ lead with 6.4 seconds left but missed a pair of free throws – a minute after Quentin Grimes also missed the line twice. The Knicks finished the night 15 for 26 from the charity strip.

The Bulls called timeout with six seconds left and drafted a play for DeRozan, who rose above Grimes near the foul line and sank the dagger to send the Knicks to their second straight loss. after an eight-game winning streak.

Barrett surpassed his previous season high in points (30) early in the third quarter, then added power and flair two possessions later when he pushed hard to the edge and dived the center of 6 feet 10 inches Nikola Vucevic. DeRozan fouled Barrett on the play, and his free throw gave the Knicks a 77-73 lead.

With Barrett on the bench for the final 4:55 of the third quarter, the Knicks used a 7-0 run to get some more breathing room before the Bulls responded again to move to 92-89 heading into the fourth quarter. .

Barrett had caught fire in the first half and was down 26 halftime points on a 9-for-13 shot. He was assertive with his rim drives and also provided a spark by making a perfect 4-for-4 at the beyond the arc. The 26 points were four shy of his season-high for an entire game, which he had done twice, including Wednesday.

The Knicks opened the game taking a 15-12 lead before the Bulls clinched an 8-0 run. LaVine scored his first five points of the game during that run, then scored seven more before the end of the quarter, helping the Bulls take a 29-22 advantage after one.

But Barrett began to warm up early in the second quarter, at one point scoring eight straight Knicks points to get them back in the game. Consecutive buckets from Immanuel Quickley then opened up a 41-37 lead for the Knicks before the Bulls came back with a 12-3 run played by former Nets guard Goran Dragic.

The Knicks nearly tied that to end the first half, however, with two 3s from Barrett and one each from Julius Randle and Grimes closing out a 12-4 run to take a 60-58 halftime lead.