National Basketball Association
Chicago 104, New York 102
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 9, 2017
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials: #46 Ben Taylor, #20 Leroy Richardson, #49 Tom Washington
Attendance: 20149

CHICAGO -- Considering how the day began for the Chicago Bulls, finding a way to stave off the New York Knicks' late fourth-quarter comeback attempt may have seemed inconceivable.

But after transportation delays kept the Bulls' charter plane from landing until just five hours before tip-off on Saturday, the Bulls somehow outlasted the rested Knicks in a 104-102 victory at the United Center.

Nikola Mirotic scored 19 points and Kris Dunn scored 17 -- including a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining -- as the Bulls (5-20) won their second straight game after snapping a 10-game losing streak with an overtime victory on Friday in Charlotte.

Originally scheduled to return to Chicago after Friday's win, the Bulls found themselves stranded in North Carolina until a pilot could arrive on Saturday and fly the Bulls back home.

"It was a tough day," Mirotic said.

By the end of it, though, the Bulls found a way to fight their way through.

"I think the biggest thing this shows is a group that really cares and a group that's going to go out and compete regardless of what the circumstances are," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We're giving ourselves a chance right now."

The Bulls won despite watching a 10-point lead disappear in the final two minutes. The Knicks, who trailed 102-92 with 2:02 remaining, tied the game on a Porzingis jump shot with 7.4 seconds remaining to cap a 10-0 scoring run.

But after Dunn was fouled on a drive to the basket and then hit the two free throws to put the Bulls back on top, Porzingis -- who led New York with 23 points -- missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

"I had a great look at the 3-point line and I took the shot," said Porzingis, who finished 10-of-25 from the field. "It felt good. It was short."

Lauri Markkanen and David Nwaba each scored 15 points for Chicago, which also got 11 points from Robin Lopez and 10 from Bobby Portis.

Mirotic, who made his season debut on Friday after missing 23 games, gave the Bulls an 81-78 lead with a 3-point field goal with 8:12 remaining. Mirotic then extended the Bulls' lead to 84-78 with another 3-pointer -- his fifth in seven attempts.

But the Knicks (12-13) stayed close and got back to within a point before Nwaba scored seven straight points, capped by a breakaway dunk, to extend Chicago's lead to 91-83 before the Knicks made their late run.

But even after the Knicks tied the score in the final seconds, the Bulls -- who have struggled to put teams away in the fourth quarter -- found a way to win for the second straight night.

"I think everything is coming together right now," Dunn said. "We got two great wins -- hopefully, we can keep it going."

The Knicks, who lost their eighth road game in nine attempts on Saturday, got 14 from Courtney Lee while Enes Kanter, Kyle O'Quinn, Frank Ntilikina and Doug McDermott each scored 10.

Despite the late offensive surge, New York coach Jeff Hornacek bemoaned the Knicks' slow start. New York fell behind 22-9 despite not playing since Wednesday. And even given the Bulls' travel issues that delayed their arrival back in Chicago, the Knicks -- who must turnaround and play at home Sunday -- failed to take advantage.

"The game was lost way in the beginning," said Hornacek, who referred to the 10-0 run as worthless. "We came out the start of the game not ready to play...They showed some fight at the end, our bench guys kept us in the game, but there's no excuse for that. We've got to come out for the start of the game."

Added Porzingis: "It's hard to explain why we do the things we do, but we just start games pretty bad. We have to get better at that."

NOTES: Knicks C Joakim Noah and G Doug McDermott made their return to Chicago, where they played previously. Noah, who was inactive Saturday, has played only eight minutes in three games this month, while McDermott is averaging 24.7 minutes over his last 10 games. ... Knicks F/G Tim Hardaway Jr. remains in a walking boot with a stress injury in his lower left leg. ... The Bulls arrived in Chicago at 2 p.m. local time Saturday after being delayed twice because pilots to fly their charter plane were stuck in other cities. The Bulls were unable to fly back Friday night as scheduled and were delayed Saturday. ... The Bulls recalled G Kay Felder and G Zach LaVine from the Windy City Bulls of the G-League. Felder played in two games and averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. LaVine practiced with Windy City as he continues to rehab from an ACL injury.
Top Game Performances
 
New York   Chicago
Kristaps Porzingis 23 Scoring Nikola Mirotic 19
Frank Ntilikina 7 Assists Kris Dunn 9
Enes Kanter 11 Rebounds Lauri Markkanen 8
Michael Beasley 2 Free Throws Made Kris Dunn 5
Courtney Lee 2 Steals Kris Dunn 3
Doug McDermott 1 Blocks Robin Lopez 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New York 102 47.3 7-24 9-9 25 40 3 6 15
Chicago 104 51.2 7-25 13-23 28 40 7 10 15
Upcoming Games
  • Chicago will play their next game at home against Boston. The Bulls have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .190 after a loss.
  • New York will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Knicks have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .538 after a loss.