New York Knicks Make a Statement with Win over Chicago Bulls

The New York Knicks have finally gotten over the hump and proved they belong amongst the NBA's elite with a win over the best team in the league, the Chicago Bulls, 100-99 in overtime.

New York was led by Carmelo Anthony's 43 points, including two huge three-pointers: one at the end of regulation to tie, and in the Knicks' last possession of overtime that proved to be the game-winner.

In two previous match ups, the Knicks lost to the Bulls by margins of three and five, respectively, so it was only a matter of time before they knocked off the team with the best record in the NBA.

This was easily the Knicks' most important and gutsiest win of the season.

With a slim lead of half a game on the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth seed and only one game back of the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, to say the Knicks needed this win was an understatement.

It was gutsy because in the waning minutes of regulation, the Knicks were down by 10 points and ended up finishing the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to push it to overtime.

In the final seconds of the extra period, the Knicks had several opportunities to tie but kept missing their shots. With the help of clutch offensive rebounding—helped by the hustle of Tyson Chandler's tip-outs—Anthony got his shot to take the lead and made the most of it.

The amount of fight this team showed proves that they have the heart and resiliency to win close games and that's something they'll need to beat the best of the best in the NBA.

It would have been easy to give up after blowing a huge 21-point lead and going completely cold from the field late in the game. But the Knicks didn't quit and that is a world of difference from the team we saw less than a month ago.

More importantly, this could be a preview of a potential first-round matchup between these two teams and now New York has a win under their belt against an elite team.

This will be a huge confidence-booster for head coach Mike Woodson's squad moving forward.

It finally proves that this team, despite all its injuries and inconsistent play during the season, is way more talented than the seeding says, and belongs with the NBA's best teams.

One thing's for certain: The Knicks are for real, and I wouldn't want to draw them in a first-round playoff matchup at all.