NBA Basketball Box Scores

National Basketball Association

BOXSCORE | RECAP

New York 115, Chicago 107

When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials: #16 David Guthrie, #41 Ken Mauer, #28 Kevin Scott
Attendance: 21788

By The Sports Xchange

CHICAGO -- Kristaps Porzingis had to laugh when asked about his dunks in his 29-point barrage that led the New York Knicks to a 115-107 win against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

"On the first dunk, I did not have my legs," said Porzingis, the Knicks' 7-foot-3 Latvian star rookie. "I almost missed it."

He didn't, of course. In fact, Porzingis rarely missed on a night when he combined with Carmelo Anthony to score 54 points and lead New York (29-43) to an upset win against Chicago (36-34).

Porzingis finished 11-for-16 from the floor, hit three of six from behind the 3-point arc and tied his career high in points while grabbing 10 rebounds.

"He was very aggressive from the jump," said Anthony, who returned from missing the Sunday game with migraine headaches to score 24 points and hit four of six 3-point attempts. "He had it going tonight. I thought we did a good job of finding him and putting him in positions to be successful out there tonight. He made shots. He led us out there tonight."

Anthony and Porzingis combined for 17 points in the third quarter, when New York outscored Chicago 35-18 to extend a two-point halftime lead into a 92-73 margin starting the fourth. The Bulls never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

The Knicks ended a three-game losing streak, beat the Bulls for the second time this season and ended a nine-game skid at the United Center. Robin Lopez had 11 points and 13 rebounds for New York, which got double-figure scoring from Arron Afflalo (12 points), Jose Calderon (11 points) and Derrick Williams (10 points).

Chicago fell out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after the Detroit Pistons passed them with a 118-102 win against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Nikola Mirotic tied a Bulls franchise record with nine 3-pointers (on 13 attempts) en route to a game-high 35 points. Derrick Rose added 21 points for Chicago, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

"I had a good game, but I'm not happy because we lost this really important game at home," Mirotic said. "We had a chance to win four games in a row, but tomorrow we have another one. We need to come with a different mind-set, play with much more physicality and play harder."

Taj Gibson and Aaron Brooks chipped in 10 points each for the Bulls, who play the finale of the back-to-back set at the Knicks on Thursday.

"I told our guys they have two choices," Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg said. "They can tuck their tails between their legs and walk out of here with their head down, or they can tough it out, suck it up and find a way to get a win (Thursday) and finish this out the right way."

There were 16 lead changes in the first half, as New York clung to a 57-55 lead at halftime. Things changed in the third, when the Knicks used a 13-2 run to build a 75-60 lead. They reached a level Chicago couldn't match, shooting 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) from the field and hitting five of seven from behind the 3-point arc. Anthony hit three of four 3-points tries in the frame.

Chicago went 6-for-19 (31.6 percent) from the floor in the third and 2-for-7 on 3-point attempts. The Bulls battled back in the fourth, cutting a 22-point deficit to eight, but couldn't get closer.

Porzingis and Anthony each hit big shots down the stretch to secure the win.

NOTES: Bulls G E'Twaun Moore (left hamstring) missed his third straight game and will not make the upcoming trip to New York and Orlando. "Hopefully, we'll get E'Twaun back, or at least get a better idea when we get back," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He's starting to jog a little bit right now, but it's tricky. It's right in the belly of his hamstring, so we want him to be 100 percent coming back and hopefully finishing off the year." ... Hoiberg talked with the Iowa State men's basketball team before its game on Friday at the United Center in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional. "I had a good talk with them," said Hoiberg, who played for Iowa State from 1991 to 1995 and coached the Cyclones from 2010 to 2015. "The biggest thing is just letting them know how proud I am of them. It's been a lot of fun to watch."

Top Game Performances

New York		Chicago
Kristaps Porzingis 29	Scoring	Nikola Mirotic 35
Jose Calderon 8	Assists	Jimmy Butler 8
Robin Lopez 13	Rebounds	Nikola Mirotic 6
Kristaps Porzingis 4	Free Throws Made	Taj Gibson 6
Jose Calderon 1	Steals	Jimmy Butler 2
Robin Lopez 4	Blocks	Jimmy Butler 1

Team Stats Summary

Team	Points	FG%	3PM-3PA	FTM-FTA	Assists	Rebounds	Blocks	Steals	Turnovers
New York	115	51.7	14-25	11-15	28	53	6	4	12
Chicago	107	46.3	15-32	16-21	29	34	5	7	6

Upcoming Games

Chicago will play their next game on the road against New York. The Bulls have a W/L % of .514 after a win and .515 after a loss.

New York will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Knicks have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .386 after a loss.