A Por Por way to lose
Kristaps off mark in loss to Bulls
CHICAGO — Weather issues prevented the Chicago Bulls from leaving Charlotte Friday night and instead the team didn’t arrive home until Saturday afternoon, five hours before tip-off.
To some extent, the Knicks were late as well. Jeff Hornacek’s team didn’t really show up until the final minutes and accordingly got exactly what they deserved.
Kristaps Porzingis’ potential game-winning three-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining rimmed out as Chicago Bulls held on for a 104-102 victory. The Knicks fell to 1-8 on the road while Chicago improved to 5-20 overall.
“I feel like I let my teammates down,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “And I’m not talking about the last shot, just in general the whole game. We can’t start games like this and I can’t start games like this. We have to play at a better level and I have to play at a better level from the beginning. So I take full responsibility for this loss.”
Porzingis scored 23 points on 25 shots and was 1-for-7 from three, including his last shot that looked clean the moment it left his hands.
“I mean, most of my shots felt pretty good,” he said. “They were all straight, just too short. I don’t know, my legs, I don’t know. Most of my shots were short today. Maybe I’ve got to — I don’t know. Hopefully I can shoot the ball better tomorrow.”
The Knicks rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes and drew even when Porzingis knocked down an 18-footer with 7.4 seconds left. But Kris Dunn broke the tie when he drove to the basket and drew a shooting foul on Courtney Lee.
The Knicks debated the call but they actually caught a momentary break because Robin Lopez rebounded the errant shot and dunked it. Instead, Dunn had to earn it from the line and he calmly sank both to finish with 17 points.
Nikola Mirortic led the Bulls with 19 points while David Nwaba scored 11 of his 15 in the fourth quarter by making all five shots. Lee scored six of his 14 points in the final 1:46 and after Chicago had taken a 10-point lead. Enes Kanter added 10 points and 11 rebounds but was limping noticeably in the locker room after taking a knee to the hip. Kanter believes he will be available for Sunday’s home game against Atlanta.
Even though the Knicks hadn’t played since Wednesday they appeared flat. They attempted just nine free throws mainly because they relied almost exclusively on jump shots.
With former Knicks and Bulls forward Charles Oakley sitting courtside, Joakim Noah was also a spectator. Noah, who began his career with the Bulls and played well during the Knicks one and only visit here last season, was a healthy inactive on Saturday. Joining Noah on the bench was Tim Hardaway Jr., who is out indefinitely with a stress injury to the lower left leg but wanted to travel with the team,
“He’s working hard with our medical team,” said Knicks GM Scott Perry. “We’re going to reevaluate it in two weeks. I’m optimistic that we’re doing all the right things. It’s good having him around and I think eventually he’ll be okay.”
With Lance Thomas replacing Hardaway in the starting lineup the Knicks got off to a slow start, falling behind by 13. Thomas scored just four points.