Knicks beat weary Bulls for 4th straight win

New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis (6) smiles at teammate Carmelo Anthony (7) as he is congratulated by Langston Galloway (2) after scoring against the Chicago Bulls during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, in New York. New York defeated Chicago 107-91. AP

NEW YORK, New York—Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and the New York Knicks beat the weary Chicago Bulls 107-91 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

A night after losing a four-overtime game in Chicago, the Bulls started well and had a strong third quarter, but the rest of the night mostly belonged to the Knicks.

Arron Afflalo added 18 points for New York, which got back to .500 at 14-14 after winning just 17 games last season. Lance Thomas scored 13 off the bench.

Joakim Noah had a season-high 21 points for the Bulls in his first start of the season. Rookie forward Bobby Portis had the best night of his brief career with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bulls’ 147-144 home loss to Detroit finished about 20 hours before Saturday’s tip-off at Madison Square Garden, and they didn’t get to their New York hotel until after 4 a.m. Pau Gasol didn’t even make the trip after playing 48 minutes Friday, remaining behind in Chicago for rest and treatment for some recent soreness.

Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose both started after playing 56 and 54 minutes, respectively, but were without their usual sharpness. Butler was 4 of 11 for 12 points a night after scoring 43, while Rose played 20 minutes and had six points on 3-of-10 shooting.

Still, the Bulls looked fine early in racing to a 12-2 lead. But the Knicks dominated the remainder of the first quarter, particularly when the teams went to their reserves, and led 25-18 entering the second.

Anthony scored 19 in the first half, but Chicago was down only nine after three. The Knicks’ reserves then opened the fourth with eight quick points to extend it to 85-68 and they remained comfortably ahead from there.

New York shot 50 percent against a Chicago team that came in limiting teams to an NBA-low 41.3 percent but was understandably a step slow in this one.