It was a strange game on Wednesday night in Windy City, and the Knicks almost blew a 19 point lead, but ended up winning a 107-103 victory.
The Knicks got off to a spectacular start, leading 17 points clear thanks to three consecutive triples from Julius Randle and 10 points from the damn Elfrid Payton. Elf was hitting the boards (7 rebounds in the fourth) and Coby White from Chicago was basically preparing a red carpet for him to get to the rim.
The fourth was a mixed blessing for Knicks fans, as Elf’s resurgence meant fewer minutes for Immanuel Quickley, who played just 13 minutes in total. It helped contain a cargo from Chicago in the third quarter.
But Thibs returned to Elf early in the fourth and Chicago continued to lead until he dropped to just 3 points. Fortunately, Julius Randle was still around to straighten the ship. Randle had 27 points, including a career record with 5 out of three points, but his biggest moment of the night was a pass to Reggie Bullock.
Julius also scored a last bucket to keep the Bulls at bay.
But in the end, the game’s story will likely be Elf. He scored 20 points from 19 shots. Good? Not really.
But it will probably be good enough to keep you in the starting lineup for at least another month. MSG is already putting laurels at Elf’s feet.
Still, a victory is a victory. Let’s get some more of them. And more minutes for IQ, please.
Recap to come.