Knicks deal Bulls first loss of season
Walker’s 21 points help N.Y. hang on
Kemba Walker scored 21 points, RJ Barrett added 20 and the New York Knicks hung on to hand the Chicago Bulls their first loss of the season 104-103 on Thursday night.
Julius Randle had 13 points and 16 rebounds. Derrick Rose came off New York’s bench to score 12 points against his former team as the Knicks won their second straight and improved to 4-1.
Chicago star Zack Lavine scored 25 points, despite playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb. The Bulls went on a 12-0 run in the final minutes to nearly tie the score in a game the Knicks seemingly had wrapped up.
Lavine’s dunk with 9.5 seconds left trimmed New York’s lead to one point after the Knicks held a 104-91 advantage with 2:59 left. Lavine’s thumb was taped up after he was injured Monday in Toronto.
Randle missed a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left to give Chicago the final possession, but Demar Derozan missed a 15-foot, pull-up shot as time ran out.
Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and Derozan added 20 points for Chicago, which fell to 4-1.
Wizards 122, Hawks 111: Bradley Beal scored 27 points and Montrezl Harrell added 25 with 13 rebounds to lift Washington over Atlanta. The Wizards (4-1) continued their impressive start under new coach Wes Unseld Jr., winning this time without new point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. Washington rested Dinwiddie.
76ers 110, Pistons 102: Joel Embiid shook off lingering pain in his right knee and had 30 points and 18 rebounds to lead Philadelphia over Detroit. Embiid remains hampered by a right knee that hasn’t been right since he suffered a torn meniscus during last season’s playoffs.
Jazz 122, Rockets 91: Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and seven Utah players reached double figures in a win over Houston. Utah is off to its first 4-0 start since the 2006-07 season.
Mavericks 104, Spurs 99: Luka Doncic scored 10 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas beat San Antonio.