Knicks blow big lead, battle back to edge Bulls

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Knicks were on the wrong end of back-to-back blowouts. They were hurt. They built a 23-point lead against the Chicago Bulls, let them come back to tie the score, then escaped Madison Square Garden on the winning end of a stinker.

But a win is a win -- and the Knicks haven't seen many of those in the last month.

Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points, Amare Stoudemire had 14 and the Knicks beat the Bulls 83-78 on Wednesday night despite shooting 21 percent in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks took control with a 19-0 run to start the second quarter and led by as many as 23 before a 33-10 Bulls run spanning the third and fourth quarters tied the game.

Stoudemire's jumper and Anthony's free throws stopped the surge, giving New York a four-point lead with 1:29 left, and the Bulls let the shot clock run out then turned the ball over on two possessions in the final minute, allowing Anthony to seal the win at the foul line.

"We closed it out," Anthony said. "We figured out a way to close the game out. Everybody did their job defensively, communicating, and we pulled the game out."

Anthony had a double-double, getting 10 rebounds, and Stoudemire approached one off the bench with nine boards. It was only the Knicks' third win in 14 games and just their third victory at home this season. They snapped a six- game losing streak to the Bulls.

Both teams were coming off losses Tuesday night. And the Knicks, who had lost to the Celtics and Cavaliers by a combined score of 223-167 in their last two games, were without point guard Raymond Felton, who sat with a sore hamstring.

But Kenyon Martin was back after missing two games with an ankle injury and the Knicks benefited from playing an equally hurt Bulls team.

Chicago, which lost its third in a row to fall to 2-9 in its last 11, missed Luol Deng (sore left Achilles) and Jimmy Butler (toe) again but had Joakim Noah back from a thigh injury,

Mike Dunleavy led the Bulls with 20 points while Carlos Boozer, Noah and Taj Gibson scored 12 apiece.

"It's real tough right now," Gibson said of his team dealing with the injuries. "We're just trying to find a way to win."

Gibson had 10 points during Chicago's big run, which turned a 23-point deficit midway through the third quarter into a tie game on Noah's tip-in with 3:38 remaining.

Pablo Prigioni started for Felton and scored half of his six points on a 3 to spark a 9-2 run opening the game for New York. The Knicks trailed 17-15 going into the second quarter, but 19 straight points shifted the tone of the game for the home team.

Stoudemire and Beno Udrih scored six points apiece and Tim Hardaway Jr. had five in a row during the surge, which gave the Knicks a 17-point lead midway through the quarter.

They led by 14 at halftime, 46-32, and took a 23-point lead on J.R. Smith's 3- pointer that made it 64-41 six minutes into the third quarter. Gibson sparked an 8-0 run for the Bulls near the end of the quarter, helping to pull them within 68-54 going into the fourth.

Game Notes

New York's last win over the Bulls came April 8, 2012 ... The Knicks play on the road against Boston on Friday ... The Bulls remain on the road to play in Milwaukee on Friday.