Undermanned squad Chicago Bulls (19-20) is scheduled to face reeling team New York Knicks (17-22) in a 2016-2017 NBA regular season match on Thursday, Jan. 12 at the Madison Square Garden.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:00 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Chicago has lost two straight games after winning their previous three with main man Jimmy Butler sidelined by an illness. Right now, super sub Nikola Mirotic is also out with an illness as the undermanned Bulls visit a demoralized Knicks squad at their home court.
The Bulls are coming off a sorry 101-99 loss to the Washington Wizards last Tuesday on the road at the Verizon Center, as per the Chicago Tribune.
Michael Carter-Williams and Robin Lopez led Chicago with 14 points apiece with the latter also contributing seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals while the former also had six boards, one assist, one steal, and one block.
Off the bench, Denzel Valentine top-scored for the squad with 19 points while Bobby Portis and Rajon Rondo, who played for the first time since Dec. 30 even without an injury, fired 13 and 12 points respectively.
Butler, Mirotic, and Dwyane Wade all sat out with Wade being rested by head coach Fred Hoiberg. He is expected to play against the Knicks on Thursday.
Chicago is currently ninth in the East, only a half-game behind eight-place squad Wizards.
Meanwhile, the Knicks have lost three consecutive games and nine of their last ten matches to drop to the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference standings, two games behind the Bulls.
New York suffered a heart-breaking 98-97 loss to lowly Philadelphia 76ers on the road at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night with a buzzer-beating jumper by Sixers guard TJ McConnell over main man Carmelo Anthony, Fox Sports reported.
The Knicks led by as much as 10 points with a little over two minutes left in the game when Joel Embiid led a furious end-game rally with McConnell's jump shot completing the comeback win.
Anthony led the Knicks with 28 points but was scoreless in the final period. Derrick Rose, who just came back from a controversial absence, contributed 25 points, two rebounds, and four assists.
Prediction
The Bulls are 7-12 on the road this season while the Knicks are 11-8 at home. Chicago is undermanned while New York is dispirited so it would be a tough game to call. The Knicks in a close one as they begin to bounce back from their recent setbacks.