Bulls Spoil Knicks Home Opener With 104-80 Win
NEW YORK (AP) -- Pau Gasol had 21 points and 11 rebounds in his Chicago debut, Derrick Rose scored 13 points after missing most of the last two seasons, and the Bulls spoiled Derek Fisher's first game as an NBA coach by beating the New York Knicks 104-80 on Wednesday night.
Reserve Taj Gibson finished with 22 points to lead the Bulls, who with a wealth of frontcourt depth didn't even need a big night from Rose. The former MVP took only seven shots and had five assists in 21 minutes in a game Chicago led by as much as 35.
Carmelo Anthony had 14 points for the Knicks, who won't have it any easier in the second half of their season-opening, back-to-back. They visit the Cavaliers, the other Eastern Conference favorite, on Thursday in the first game since LeBron James returned to Cleveland.
The Knicks, running the triangle offense that Fisher played in under Knicks president Phil Jackson, shot 36.5 percent. They were missing starting point guard Jose Calderon, who was a late scratch because of a strained right calf. Shane Larkin made his first career start.
Gasol, the former Lakers star signed by the Bulls signed this summer after they failed to land Anthony, shot 7 of 11 from the field. His presence, along with Rose's health, could give the Bulls a chance for their first championship since Jackson coached them to six when Michael Jordan was in Chicago.
Rose missed the 2012-13 season after tearing his left ACL in the 2012 playoffs. He returned last season and hit the go-ahead shot to beat the Knicks on Halloween in Chicago's home opener, but was lost again for the season when he tore cartilage in the other knee in November.
He showed a few flashes of his vaunted quickness but there often wasn't need for it. The better options for the Bulls were to just pound it inside to Gasol and Gibson, who combined to make 17 of 23 shots.
The Knicks led most of the first quarter as Amare Stoudemire hit his first four shots, but Chicago scored the final eight of the period to lead 24-20. Gibson then scored 10 in the second as the Bulls opened a 15-point cushion before taking a 53-43 advantage to halftime, and it was never close in a second half that featured the Knicks hearing some boos from the home fans.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
