CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls kept their play-in tournament hopes alive with a big win over the New York Knicks on Friday night at the United Center.
Javonte Green hada career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds while Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 to carry the Bulls past the Knicks,108-100.
“I feel like that’s my game, though. Just bring excitement to the game and just play as hard as I can and just try to win each game for the team.” said Green,who was toiling with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors before signing a 10-day contract last March 23.
And just yesterday, the Bulls locked himup for the remainder of the season,
DeMar DeRozan joined the Bulls’ scoring party 20 points alongside and had 10 assists while Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Andre Drummond accounted for 10 points and 16 boards.
Jalen Brunson, whose dad once played for the Bulls, exploded for 35 points to pace the Knicks, but New York shot just 43.4 percent from the field (36-of-83) and 34.5 percent from three-point land (10-of-29).
New York’s loss came a day after the team announced that All-Star forward Julius Randle is out for the season after opting to undergo surgery for a dislocated shoulder.
At ninth-place with a 37-40 record, Chicago leads Atlanta by a game in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls, who own the head-to-head tiebreaker, would host a play-in game if they finish with identical records.
The Knicks, meanwhile, are tied with Orlando for the fourth-best record in the East.
“They played with more energy and more pace than we did. That’s two games in a row where we were down big early. We just can’t allow that to happen,” Brunson said.
