Chicago Bulls Beat New York Knicks 104-99 in Possible First Round Preview

If the season ended today, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks would face off in the opening round of the postseason with the Bulls being the first seed and the Knicks being the eighth. If this were the first game, of the series, the Bulls would be up one game to none as Chicago bested the Knicks 104-99.

The Bulls were shorthanded again, as it seems the running theme of the season. It was the 16th game where they were without at least two starters, and it is a testament to their depth that they are 12-4 in those games. That .750 winning percentage is better than all but two teams—the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City thunder. 

The theme behind this game was offensive rebounding. The Bulls didn't dominate the Knicks on the offensive glass, they dominated the Knicks on the offensive glass grabbing 19 offensive rebounds to nine for the Knicks and holding a 24-4 edge in second-chance points. 

Tonight, offensive rebound was personified in the person of Taj Gibson who was utterly massive in grabbing eight offensive boards off the bench. He had a total of 15 points and 13 total rebounds on the night. 

After a rough start, Derrick Rose ended up with a big night scoring 32 points, dishing seven assists and grabbing six rebounds. Ronnie Brewer had a quiet but solid all-around night scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds and passing for seven assists himself.

Joakim Noah had his 18th double-double of the season scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards. He also had five assists. It was the 11th game this season that Noah had at least four assists. Noah is second, behind only Marc Gasol, among all NBA centers in assists this season. 

Another Bull with an admirable performance was the Bulls' rookie Jimmy Butler who played significant minutes for the second game in a row absent Luol Deng. Butler guarded the Knicks' superstar small forward Carmelo Anthony and held him without a point in the fourth quarter until there were 47 seconds left.

He also scored eight points, grabbed two rebounds and had one assist.

Jeremy Lin, the New York Knicks surprising meteoric star, had a decent enough game scoring 15 points and dishing five assists. He also had a nice block on a Derrick Rose shot. 

Anthony was the Knicks' leading scorer with 21 points. Amar'e Stoudemire added 20.

In a lot of ways, it was an ugly game for the Bulls, especially in the first half. By the second half, they settled down and pulled away during the fourth quarter enough to leave little doubt as to the outcome with a couple of minutes left in the game. 

Rose was only 5-of-15 in the first half but was 7-of-14 in the second half as he seemed to settle down and work more on involving his teammates. He looked like he was a little overhyped on trying to show Lin who the MVP of the league was, and as a result, he was pressing too hard. 

When he settled down and actually just played his game, he was a better player. Hopefully, that's a lesson he can take into the postseason. He needs to know when to take over at times, and they need him to be himself to win the game, but they can't win a game in the first quarter. 

The Bulls extended their NBA-best record to 35-9. Their next game will be a game Bulls fans will find marginally interesting as they are hosting LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.

Pre-game reports on CSN Chicago stated that coach Tom Thibodeau "hopes" that Luol Deng and C.J. Watson (who also missed tonight's game) will play against the Heat. 

So do we.