NEW YORK _ The Knicks found themselves in a very familiar position, leading by double digits down the stretch. No lead has been safe lately, but this was one the Knicks wouldn't give up.
Only 24 hours earlier, the Knicks let a 10-point lead with 2:29 left disappear in a last-second loss to the 76ers. But the Knicks played until the final buzzer on Thursday night at the Garden and snapped a three-game losing skid with a 104-89 victory over the Bulls.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks (18-22) with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Derrick Rose added 17 against his former team to help the Knicks to only their second win in the last 11 games.
Jeff Hornacek was interested in seeing how the Knicks would come back after their gut-wrenching loss in Philadelphia. He said they could "drop their heads and lose by 40" or "fight and battle, scratch and claw" against Chicago.
"It should say something about our team tonight," Hornacek said.
Playing without Kristaps Porzingis who missed the game with a sore left Achilles, the Knicks showed that they can be resilient and overcome a demoralizing loss quickly. But it's only one game. The Knicks need to string some wins together to prove that they're moving in a positive direction.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas came off the bench and scored 19 points. Joakim Noah, who is playing with a sore right shoulder, had 12 points and 15 rebounds against his old team. Kyle O'Quinn finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Dwyane Wade scored 22 to lead the Bulls, who were without All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler and reserve Nikola Mirotic due to an illness.
The Knicks' biggest lead in the fourth quarter against the 76ers was 13. They took an 86-71 lead on Chicago after Kuzminskas drove and dunked with 8:46 left. But they weren't in the clear.
The Bulls cut it to 94-84 with 2:57 left, but Anthony fed Kuzminskas for a reverse layup moments later. After former Knick Jerian Grant drilled a 3-pointer to make it a nine-point game, Anthony hit a 3 with 1:48 left to make it 99-87.
The Knicks' loss to the 76ers on point guard T.J. McConnell's turnaround baseline jumper over Porzingis and Anthony was the worst one in a season that's been filled with bad losses.
In an eight-day stretch, the Knicks lost two games at the buzzer, and led both by double figures in the second half.
But Hornacek said he has been impressed that throughout the losing and the distraction that Rose caused this week by leaving the Knicks without notifying them, that the team has remained together and focused on turning things around.
"They've been pretty good," Hornacek said. "I think a lot of teams could fracture at this time and just start pointing fingers at each other and start complaining and doing this and that. But they're not. They're down obviously when we look at them, but they're not blaming anybody. So that's a good sign."
The Knicks opened the game like a team that wanted to wash the stench of the Philadelphia loss off them. They scored the first eight points. But the night wasn't going to continue to be that easy for the Knicks.
They went up 34-26 with 8:45 left in the first half after Justin Holiday made back-to-back three-pointers. But the Bulls answered with a 13-2 run and led 39-36 following a Paul Zipser 3-pointer.
From there, Anthony and Rose dominated the rest of the first half. They were responsible for the Knicks' last 18 points and helped them to a 54-51 lead at halftime.
Anthony had nine points and an assist, and Rose scored seven, including a three-point play with 4.8 seconds left to give the Knicks a five-point edge. But they let another point guard make a last-second shot: Rajon Rondo hit a jumper as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Anthony continued his strong play in the third quarter. He had four points and three assists during a 14-4 run that gave the Knicks a 74-61 lead. O'Quinn scored six consecutive points in that time.
