Must help selves in playoff hunt by
CHICAGO — Between what happened in Newark and in Miami, but especially here at the United Center, this was an especially bad night for the Knicks, all the way around.
They didn’t have to contend with Derrick Rose, which was a gift, even if the Bulls have put up a ridiculous won-lost record when they haven’t had the reigning MVP this season.
With Rose nursing a sprained ankle and sitting out his 23rd game of the season, the Knicks still couldn’t beat the Bulls. To make matters worse, on a night when they fell 98-86, the Knicks saw the Sixers stop their slide with a win over the Nets, while the Celtics went into Miami and tightened their grip on the Atlantic Division lead with a win over the Heat.
The Knicks’ setback doesn’t mean that they can’t catch the Celtics, although that’s looking like a long shot now. And it also doesn’t mean the Knicks are falling out of the playoff race and the Sixers are making it. But it does put more of an emphasis on their game Wednesday in Milwaukee, which is also vying for a playoff berth and is right on the Knicks’ tails.
“It’s a must-win game for us,” said Tyson Chandler, after the Knicks were pounded on the glass. “We have to treat it like it’s Game 7 of a playoff series.”
But that’s exactly how the Knicks should have treated this game. We understand, a lot of teams haven’t beaten the Bulls when Rose hasn’t been on the floor during his nightmare season. They’re now 16-7 without him, which is simply astounding.
Still, when you’ve still got big plans for the playoffs and you don’t have to contend with one of the NBA’S premier players on his home floor, you’ve got to get the game. Somehow. Some way.
“We struggled all night,” said Mike Woodson. “We didn’t flow into anything. That’s the first time I’ve seen that since I’ve been coaching this team. It was like everyone was trying to beat them by themselves.”
They really threw away a great chance here when they scored all of 10 points in the second quarter. Then they couldn’t stop the old Piston, Richard Hamilton, in the third period when he went for 18 points and got the Bulls into the fourth leading, 72-62. In the fourth, they never got the Bulls’ lead below eight as they ended up giving guys such as Kyle Korver too many open looks.
Hamilton really won the game for the Bulls, hitting six of 10 shots in the third and looking like he was back in Auburn Hills, filling it up for Larry Brown when the Pistons won it all in 2004. He scored off the drive, which he rarely has done in recent seasons. He didn’t have anything left after the third period — he didn’t log a single minute in the fourth — but it was more than enough for the Bulls.
“That’s who he is,” said Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, who has seen Hamilton struggle with injuries in the shooting guard’s first season with the Bulls. “He’s missed a ton of time. Twenty points in 20 minutes, that’s outstanding. Now he’s getting used