The New York Knicks will aim for back-to-back wins for the second time this season when they face the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
New York earned a 111-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday to start their NBA Cup group play.
Josh Hart recorded his seventh career triple-double and first of the season with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Hart, who had mentioned during the preseason that he felt “lost” in the new Knicks rotation, is now posting career-best numbers in rebounds (9.3) and assists (5.6).
” A lot of what he says, you’ve got to let go in one ear and out the other. He likes to hear himself talk,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau joked about Hart. “That being said, I love Josh.”
Hart has scored in double figures in every game this season. Tuesday’s game marked his fifth with either a double-double or triple-double.
Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks’ major offseason signing, saw his streak of scoring over 30 points end at three games when he put up 21 points against Philadelphia. Towns also grabbed 13 rebounds in the win.
OG Anunoby scored 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting. This performance came just after he scored 25 points in Sunday’s 132-121 loss to Indiana.
The Chicago Bulls come into New York having lost five of their last six games, including a 119-113 loss to the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. Zach LaVine scored 26 points, and Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each added 20 in the loss.
The Bulls had a balanced scoring attack, building a nine-point lead at one point, but 21 turnovers turned into 35 points for Cleveland, which helped to seal Chicago’s defeat.
“We’re emphasizing pace and the way we want to play, but it’s also my job to recognize if we haven’t gotten a good look in a couple of trips down, slow the game down,” LaVine said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“That’s probably where a few turnovers came from, just leaving my feet. It’s been a little bit of an issue, but I’m the first one to look in the mirror and say I’ve got to be better in that area.”
Chicago is averaging 16.5 turnovers per game, which ranks seventh-most in the league.
The Bulls have also been struggling on defense. They have given up at least 119 points in each of their last five losses. Chicago’s defense, which allows an average of 120.7 points per game, ranks as the fourth-worst in the NBA.
New York’s defense has been inconsistent. The Knicks came into Tuesday’s game allowing 111.2 points per game, but after holding Philadelphia to just 99 points, New York is allowing an average of 99.2 points in games they win.
“Our defense sustained throughout the game and in the fourth quarter,” Towns said, according to the New York Post. “So it’s something to be proud of, something to hang our hat on and build off.”
The Knicks have held their opponents under 100 points in each of their last three victories.
