NBA Preview from The Sports Network
Saturday, December 8th
(All times Eastern)
New York Knicks (14-4) at Chicago Bulls (10-8), 8 p.m.
(Sports Network) - The New York Knicks will shoot for their sixth consecutive
victory on Saturday night when they head to Chicago to face the Bulls.
The Knicks are coming off a huge win on Thursday night over the defending
champion Miami Heat. They bested the Heat in Miami, 112-92 and did it without
star player Carmelo Anthony.
Truth be told, the Knicks won their tilt on Wednesday without Anthony at the
end of the game. He lacerated his finger diving for a loose ball against the
Charlotte Bobcats, but J.R. Smith made a game-winning jumper as time expired
for that victory.
Against the Heat, the Knicks won thanks to the 3-point shot. They made 18 from
beyond the arc and Raymond Felton went 6-for-10 himself. Felton finished with
27 points and seven assists.
Five other Knicks scored in double-figures, led by 18 points from Steve Novak
off the bench. Smith had 13 and Rasheed Wallace chipped in 12. The reserves
accounted for 57 points.
"I thought it was a total team effort from everybody across the board," Knicks
head coach Mike Woodson said. "I thought our defense was solid and then we
kind of broke it open at the end."
The Knicks held the Heat to 42.1 percent shooting from the field and only
committed seven turnovers on the night.
New York will look to zero in defensively on Chicago's Joakim Noah on Saturday
after the big man set career highs with 30 points and 23 rebounds in Friday's
108-104 win over the Detroit Pistons.
"It feels great to play well," said Noah, who also had six assists. "We have
another one (Saturday) so we cannot get too happy. It is crazy to have numbers
like that, but I am happy we won and we just have to move on."
In 18 games this season, Noah is averaging 13.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.3
assists per game.
"He was everywhere," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Noah. "He had a
great all-around game."
Carlos Boozer notched 24 points and six rebounds while Luol Deng and Marco
Belinelli each added 16 points for the Bulls, who have won 16 straight games
over the Pistons and haven't lost to the team in close to four years.
Chicago has won four of its past five overall to lead the Central Division
despite having not had the services of guard Derrick Rose all season due to
left knee surgery.
The Bulls have won eight of the last 12 against the Knicks and are 6-1 at home
against New York in their last seven.
12/08 10:38:14 ET
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