The New York Knicks are gearing up for their challenging post-All-Star break schedule in true blue-collar fashion: by playing their longest game of the season.
The Knicks will begin their playoff push on Thursday night as they host the Chicago Bulls, with both teams returning from the All-Star break.
This will be the first game for the Knicks and Bulls since February 12, when New York outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 149-148 in overtime, and the Bulls fell to the visiting Detroit Pistons 128-110.
The win improved the Knicks’ record to 36-18, marking their best winning percentage (.667) at the All-Star break since the 1996-97 season. However, it was a surprisingly hard-earned victory for New York, which initially built an 18-point second-quarter lead and then led by six points with just 10 seconds left in regulation before the Hawks forced overtime.
The Hawks, who never led in regulation, managed to open a five-point lead in the extra session. However, Jalen Brunson’s fallaway from the foul line gave the Knicks a 149-148 lead with 11 seconds left. Atlanta then missed two potential go-ahead or game-winning shots, including a wide-open 3-pointer by Georges Niang as time expired in a game that lasted two hours and 54 minutes.
The grittiness displayed by the Knicks will be essential down the stretch, as New York—the third-place team in the Eastern Conference—is set to play 19 of its final 28 games against teams that reached the All-Star break among the top 10 in their conference.
In the NBA, the top six teams in each conference are guaranteed a playoff spot, while the seventh- through tenth-place teams qualify for the play-in tournament to determine the final two berths in each conference.
The challenging stretch for the Knicks begins in earnest on Friday, when they embark on a two-game road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics—the two teams ahead of them in the East.
The Bulls, on the other hand, face a different set of challenges. They entered the All-Star break in tenth place in the East, 1.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets. Chicago has won a game in the play-in tournament in each of the last two seasons.
However, contending for another spot in the play-in tournament may prove difficult for the Bulls, who traded leading scorer Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings in a three-way blockbuster deal with the San Antonio Spurs on February 3. In return, Chicago received the Spurs’ first-round pick this summer, as well as reserves Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, and Tre Jones.
The Bulls won their first game following the trade but entered the All-Star break with four consecutive losses, with an average margin of defeat of 24.5 points.
