Derrick Rose scored 26 points and Luol Deng added 23 and 10 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls used a big second half to defeat the host New York Knicks, 103-90, on Tuesday.
Carlos Boozer chipped in 14 points and a season-high 22 boards and Joakim Noah scored 13 points for the Bulls (61-20), who have already clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference and still have a shot at the best record in the NBA.
Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points for the Knicks, who are locked into the No. 6 spot in the East and will open the playoffs this weekend at the Boston Celtics.
New York held a 55-52 edge at the half but watched that lead quickly disappear when Chicago ripped off a 26-2 run over the first seven minutes of the third quarter. The Knicks recovered by the end of the period, cutting it to 84-73 heading into the final period.
They got as close as 91-84 early in the fourth quarter before Rose drained a 3-pointer to help the Bulls pull away again.
Bill Walker added 18 points for New York, which played without All-Star forward Amar'e Stoudemire for the third straight game. Stoudemire is expected to be ready for the playoffs.
Chicago | New York | |
Derrick Rose 26 | Scoring | Carmelo Anthony 21 |
Carlos Boozer 4 | Assists | Chauncey Billups 8 |
Carlos Boozer 22 | Rebounds | Carmelo Anthony 5 |
Joakim Noah 7 | Free Throws Made | Carmelo Anthony 4 |
Joakim Noah 2 | Steals | Toney Douglas 4 |
Carlos Boozer 1 | Blocks | Carmelo Anthony 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Chicago | 103 | 43.4 | 7-20 | 24-27 | 20 | 51 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
New York | 90 | 41.0 | 8-31 | 14-17 | 19 | 33 | 5 | 10 | 12 |