Career Game From Jimmy Butler Leads Chicago Bulls To 103-97 Win Over New York Knicks

Playing without their franchise player, the Chicago Bulls turned to Jimmy Butler on Thursday night and the rising star delivered again scoring 35 points to lead the team to a win over the New York Knicks, 103-97.

Butler shot an efficient 11-of-21 shots from the field including 4-of-7 from the three-point line and added 7 assists and 4 steals for the Bulls, which after struggling at the start of December has now won four of their last five games. Chicago improved to 16-9 for the year while dropping New York to 5-23 for the season. The Knicks have also lost 13 of their last 14 outings.

Three other Bulls also finished in double-figure scoring. Pau Gasol had 20 points and off the bench, Aaron Brooks and Nikola Mirotic added 18 and 13 points, respectively. Joakim Noah missed 7-of-8 field goals but grabbed 13 rebounds. The Knicks had the advantage in field goal percentage, 46.3% to 45.3% and total rebounds, 41-32 but the Bulls converted more three point shots, 12/23 to 6/9 and had less turnovers, 11 to 16.

The Knicks were led by Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 23 points, Amare Stoudemire’s 16 points and 4 blocked shots and had a surprise contributor in Cole Aldrich, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Chicago opened the game with a 30-20 first quarter but the Knicks fought back in the middle quarters outscoring the Bulls in the second, 25-22 and third, 29-21. New York grabbed the lead entering the fourth, 74-73 but the Bulls went on a 14-3 run to open the payoff period to push the lead to 87-77 capped off by a Mirotic three-pointer. The Knicks made another run to cut the lead down to a single point multiple times but Brooks and Butler hit timely three-pointers to hold off New York’s challenge.

Upcoming Schedule (Next 3 Games):
New York Knicks: vs. Phoenix Suns, at Toronto Raptors, vs. Washington Wizards
Chicago Bulls: at Memphis Grizzlies, vs. Toronto Raptors, at Washington Wizards