With both sides playing on the second night of back-to-back slates Sunday, our tanking Chicago Bulls managed to put a scare into the New York Knicks at the United Center. The game stayed close late, but New York pulled out the 105-99 victory as time expired.
Head coach Billy Donovan trotted out his new starting five for the second straight game: Josh Giddey at the point, Isaac Okoro at shooting guard, Matas Buzelis at small forward, Jalen Smith at power forward and the undersized Guerschon Yabusele at center.
For whatever reason, Donovan seems resistant to installing the bigger, more athletic Nick Richards at the five spot. Richards is more of a rim-running lob threat, while Yabusele is more of a jump shooter. Maybe Donovan prefers the optionality of running a five-out offense?
The Bulls were without starting shooting guard Anfernee Simons, who exited last night’s blowout loss to the Detroit Pistons with a wrist injury. Per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, Donovan indicated that the former Celtic will undergo imaging with a specialist.
The most important bullet point: Donovan did seem to heed criticism of his rotations at the very least, prioritizing long-term piece Rob Dillingham over impending unrestricted free agent Collin Sexton. Sexton, the better player, did not see any action until the second quarter.
Matas Buzelis has emerged as one of Chicago’s most important building blocks. All-Defensive Team wing Mikal Bridges drew the defensive assignment on the second-year Bulls forward, a clear sign of respect from New York coach Mike Brown.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesAn Encouraging First Half from Chicago
The Bulls went on a surprise run in the second quarter, leading New York by as many as eight points during the frame. At the halftime break, Chicago paced the Knicks by a point, 53-52. Each of Okoro, Smith and Yabusele had nine points apiece.
Yabusele seemed particularly motivated against his old team early. The Frenchman went 3-of-4 from distance and pulled down eight boards in the first half alone.
Guerschon Yabusele in the 1st half vs. his former team:3-4 3P9 PTS8 REBBulls lead Knicks 53-52 pic.twitter.com/ot5rTW4GbA
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) February 23, 2026There were plenty of growing pains.
Late into the third frame, Dillingham nabbed a steal and broke away for an unencumbered dunk attempt… which he clanged against the backboard. Tre Jones managed to salvage a layup. After that, a fast-breaking Dillingham avenged that effort, somewhat, by rebounding his own miss to bring Chicago within five points heading into the fourth quarter, 83-78.
Chicago also lost another soldier during the game. Smith departed the bout with a tight right calf at the end of the third quarter and was ruled out for the night by the Bulls. Perhaps the game was getting too close for comfort.
Knicks Barely Outlast Sloppy Bulls Late
The Bulls refused to be put away early into the fourth quarter, but were ultimately doomed by sloppy turnovers and a massive height disparity.
A 25-foot Collin Sexton corner triple after an offensive play broke down got Chicago within four points, 89-85.
Gimme the hot sauce, Young Bull ?@CollinSexton02 | @CHSN__ pic.twitter.com/l4HnKoYm9o
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 23, 2026Reserve center Nick Richards recorded his 10th rebound of the night off a subsequent Sexton steal, and his putback helped get the Bulls within a possession, 89-87, with 7:09 remaining.
An 8-0 Bulls run, capped by a Buzelis trey, put Chicago back up with 3:42 left in regulation, 95-94.
MATAS FOR THE LEAD ? pic.twitter.com/tbnNv7ifU7
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) February 23, 2026An abundance of Bulls turnovers (they had 17 in all), ineffective Chicago defense against Knicks straight-line drives in the lane, and clutch buckets from New York All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson helped the Knicks close out the Bulls.
Despite all the understandable criticisms levied against him, Towns feasted on Chicago’s relatively undersized frontcourt. The six-time All-Star notched his fifth straight game scoring 20 or more points, finishing with 28 on 10-of-17 shooting from the field (5-of-9 from deep) and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line and 11 rebounds. He scored 11 of those points in the fourth frame alone.
A Mikal Bridges corner trey off a Brunson drive-and-dish iced the game for the Knicks with 26 seconds left in regulation.
BANG. pic.twitter.com/temu4YqD4N
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 23, 2026The victory lifted New York to an impressive 31-1 record when leading after three quarters. Chicago, meanwhile, has fallen to a 24-34 record on the year with its 12th loss across its past 13 contests.
Full Box Score
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