The Bulls dropped another overtime heartbreaker to Julius Randle, the Knicks

Another night, another “clutch” loss Chicago Bulls. And one more overtime.

Wednesday’s 128-120 loss to the New York Knicks moved the Bulls to 11-16 on the season and 3-11 in games within five points with five or fewer games remaining. The sobering statistic is sobering for the season.

Here are 10 observations:

1.The Knicks stormed out of the gate on an 11-2 start here, breaking down the Bulls’ defense and making three of their first four 3-point attempts. Typically, that would be the reason for Billy Donovan’s quick-trigger timeout. But here he let the Bulls play through it and they eventually cut a 10-point deficit to 14-10 at the game’s first break (at 6:08).

Overall, the Bulls lost the first quarter 29-28, snapping a three-game winning streak in the opening frame. In some ways it could have been worse.

But it also could have been significantly better had the Knicks not dominated the possession battle. Despite shooting 34.6 percent from the field in the period, the Knicks scored seven second-chance points on six offensive rebounds, three points on three Bulls turnovers and seven points on nine foul attempts.

2.Javonte Green played in his second game after missing three on his right knee and remained on the bench.

That’s significant because Donovan said last week he plans to return Green to the first unit, where he played one game before his injury, when healthy. But the Bulls coach has now gone beyond easing Green back into the rotation by starting Patrick Williams over him in two straight contests. When asked about a dynamic foreplay, it doesn’t sound like the plan to add Green is as set in stone as it once was.

“I thought Patrick played well, I thought the group played well with Javonte out. I just decided to go with it. We’ll have to see how it goes,” Donovan said before the game about his decision to start Green. Hawks. “Back to back, I just didn’t feel comfortable starting him at the time.

“I think when he (Green) comes back, it’s been, to be honest with you, tough. Because, to be honest with you, Javonte has been playing really well, Patrick has been playing really well and Derrick has been playing really well. … I look , what it will look like in the future.”

Green, who Donovan added is not subject to a time limit, was impressive in the first and third quarters, hitting a 3-pointer, creating a drive to the free throw line after an offensive rebound, cutting the baseline for a dunk and creating a pair of transition opportunities with his action. The Bulls were plus-five in his 10 minutes.

3. Ball security was again an issue for the Bulls in the first half, another complaint Donovan made during the game. The most worrisome stretch came in the first half of the second quarter, when the Knicks turned three drives into seven points to extend their one-point lead to 11.

4.But the Bulls flipped the script in the third quarter, turning a nine-point deficit at one point into a one-point lead. That run was catalyzed on the defensive end, where they forced five Knicks turnovers (and scored six of them) in less than eight minutes:

However, the Knicks got the course right by draining three 3-pointers in the stretch of the frame and carrying a 92-88 lead into the fourth.

5.Aside from fast breaks, NikolaVuevi was the Bulls’ most reliable source of offense through three quarters. In that time, he had 19 points and four assists, doing most of his work in the post. But that postwork wasn’t primarily against the mismatch, he took Knicks centers Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein to the hook school and also shot fakes.

(Unfortunately, he barely touched the ball before overtime when he missed a corner 3-pointer and was blocked by Robinson with a hook.)

6.DeMar DeRozan took the reins to start the fourth and scored eight points in about six minutes to start a back-and-forth stretch run. DeRozan scored 16 points in the final frame, including eight straight (six of which came from the free throw line) in the final 2:07 of regulation to send the game into overtime.

7.Donovan finished the fourth quarter and rode overtime with his starting lineup, recruiting Alex Caruso and Williams around DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Vuevi.

Williams, a refreshing development, scored 11 points and made two of the biggest plays of the game; With 0:28 to play in the fourth and the Knicks leading 117-115, he blocked Randle’s layup, which led directly to a quick layup by DeRozan that tied the game at 117-117. Then, on the Knicks’ final possession, he forced Randle to pop a balloon.

(Donovan also saved Williams from a potentially record-breaking foul by calling Randle’s foul shot that would have sent the Knicks ahead to the free throw line with New York up 114-111 with 1:30 left. It’s the second straight game Donovan has won a critical challenge in the final minute of the fourth quarter.)

8.But the Knicks won 11-3 in overtime. And the lasting story of the game is that their “Big Three” beat the Bulls’ trio of stars:

• Randle was a largely unsolved problem, scoring 31 points. Fifteen of those came in the first quarter, when his first two three-point attempts were drilled. He was effective at digging in and using his physicality at the line of scrimmage 15 times (making 12). And while he didn’t score goals, the attention paid to his defense saw him guard primarily with Williams and Caruso, but often had to be sent in doubles. and help aggressively inside opened him to pick up seven assists.
• Brunson, who had been questionable with a sprained leg, was his crafty self, darting in and out of the lane for 30 points on 11-21 shooting (3-6 from 3-point range).
• Although RJ Barrett missed in the fourth quarter, he also had 22 points and four 3-pointers.

That adds up to 83 points and 16 assists. Meanwhile, DeRozan (32 points), LaVine (25) and Vuevi (19) combined for 76. But LaVine fumbled a few questionable shots in the fourth quarter, and Vuevi missed a few potentially momentum-swinging opportunities in overtime.

9.Two stats that changed big moments in the game: The Knicks entered the game dead last in the NBA in 3-point percentage (39.1), but played hot from long range all night and finished 18-34, a sizable advantage over the Bulls. 9-28. And the Knicks dominated the second-chance scoring battle, making 20 off 15 rebounds.

The latter was a massive factor in the fourth quarter, as Robinson pulled down three offensive boards, each of which came from behind. And until last, Quentin Grimes hit a dagger 3 in the final seconds of regulation and overtime.

10.Ayo Dosunmu, still nursing an abdominal bruise suffered in Sunday’s game, was not fit for this, which again increased Coby White’s chances. And like in his second half against the Hawks, White took advantage. He had 12 points (5-8 shooting, 2-4 from deep), four rebounds and two assists. In addition to the numbers, he also made sound decisions while pushing the pace offensively.

Next up for the Bulls: Returning home to face the Knicks again on Friday.

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