CHICAGO — The Knicks showed up on Halloween as a team at full strength.
It wasn’t a disguise but still felt like a ruse as they were toppled Friday night by the Bulls, 135-125, a defeat summarized by a terrible start, a strong third quarter, and a terrible finish.
Even with Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride back in the lineup and everybody available, they trailed for the entirety of the final 39 minutes.
The Knicks clawed back to cut the deficit to two in the fourth quarter. But the last 3 1/2 minutes were ugly, with the visitors getting outscored to end the game, 15-9. Karl-Anthony Towns missed three straight wide-open treys in that stretch. He had 22 points with 10 boards.
Jalen Brunson couldn’t prevent a third straight loss, recording 29 points while dominating the ball with 25 shots.
The Knicks (2-3) got nothing again from the bench, which was outscored 53-21 by Chicago’s reserves. Josh Hart continues to look lost and in pain, whether because of his back or surgically-repaired finger. Newcomers Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson were again non-factors.
Undefeated through five games, the Bulls, along with the Sixers, are the big positive surprise of this young season. Josh Giddey, who finished with 32 points Friday, is playing above expectations on a new contract and equipped with the keys to the offense. They’re young and exciting, winning with the style the Knicks desire for themselves but are struggling to find – with ball movement and cutting and pace and efficiency.
The Bulls are who the Knicks want to be. They’re also younger and more athletic. The Knicks had their optimal rotation in place – with Robinson starting at center and McBride as the catalyst off the bench – but it didn’t matter.
Robinson played only 20 minutes with 11 rebounds and four points, subbing out like he was on a minutes restriction despite the coach’s insistence that he wasn’t. McBride added just eight points in his worst performance of the season, with the Knicks being outscored by 22 with him on the court.
At least New York has its health.
“You always want to be at full strength. This is a marathon. This is a process,” Brown said. “Still a lot of room to grow. So having everybody on the floor just gives you more of an opportunity to get some continuity with the guys together. You want that as much as possible. It’s good to have it probably for the first time tonight since I’ve been here.”
The loss capped an ugly 0-3 road trip for the Knicks, who play Chicago again Sunday at MSG. The defeat was also part of the NBA Cup, meaning Mike Brown’s team now faces an uphill climb to advance out of its group.
But the Knicks also have bigger things to worry about than Adam Silver’s in-season tournament.
Brown wants to create a feared and formidable offense. There’s plenty of work to be done. So far, they play better when the pace is slowed like Friday’s third quarter and the Knicks cut a 19-halftime deficit deficit to 2 by midway through the fourth.
Then the Bulls took over.
“I worry more about us than about our opponents and I think if you become elite at what you do and you believe in what you do, you can do it at the highest level,” Brown said. “So for us, and it’s more about us, we can combat anyone’s transition if we take care of the ball and execute our rules the right way no matter if we’re playing fast or slow. We want to try to play fast. We’re not playing as fast as I want to right now, but I don’t wanna adjust every time I see an opponent to them. We want to make people adjust to us.”
