It was an odd game Wednesday night in Windy City, and the Knicks damn was almost 19 points ahead, but in the end they scored a 107-103 victory.
The Knicks took a 17-point lead thanks to three consecutive tries from Julius Randle and 10 points from the much-maligned Elfrid Payton. Eleven crashed on the boards (7 rebounds in the quarter) and Chicago’s Coby White basically laid out a red carpet for him to get to the edge.
The quarter was a mixed blessing for Knicks fans, as Elf’s revival meant fewer minutes for Immanuel Quickley, who played just 13 minutes. He did help stop the Chicago charge in the third quarter.
But Thibs returned to Elf early in the fourth time, and Chicago continued to take the lead until it was just 3 points. Fortunately, Julius Randle was still there to fix the ship. Randle has 27 points, including a career high of 5 three-pointers, but his biggest moment of the night was a pass to Reggie Bullock.
Julius also got a late bucket to keep the Bulls at stake.
But in the end, the story of the game will probably be Elf. He scored 20 points on 19 shots. Well? Not really.
But that would probably be good enough to keep him in the starting lineup for at least another month. MSG is already honoring Elf’s feet.
Yet a win is a win. Let’s get some more of it. And more minutes for IQ, please.
Summary to come.