Knicks Beat Short-handed Bulls, NBA Scores

BY ESPN

To Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, it didn't matter much that they were playing their former team.

At this point, the New York Knicks just needed to beat somebody.

Carmelo Anthony had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Rose and Noah had big games against Chicago, and the Knicks beat the short-handed Bulls 104-89 on Thursday night.

"Tonight's game was because it was the next game," Rose said. "We were desperate to win and I'm just happy that we got the win."

Rose scored 17 points in his return to Madison Square Garden after skipping the last game here, and Noah finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds as the Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak. Rookie forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas had a season-high 19 points.

The Knicks bounced back from a loss at the buzzer in Philadelphia on Wednesday to win for the first time this season on the second night of back-to-back games.

Dwyane Wade scored 22 for the Bulls, who were missing star swingman Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic and Denzel Valentine, all because of illness. They dropped their third straight.

Playing without starting forward Kristaps Porzingis, New York won for just the second time in 11 games, a much-needed victory after the mystery surrounding Rose -- and then its second buzzer-beating loss of the month.

"I haven't been in situations like this too many times in my career, but I've definitely been in situations where there's been adversity and I think that today a lot of guys showed what they were made of," Noah said.

Rose went home to Chicago on Monday without telling the team, returned to practice the next day and said his absence was for family reasons. The Knicks fined him but put him back in the starting lineup and he has played well in both games since.

Rose was cheered during pregame introductions and then helped the Knicks race to an 8-0 lead. They pulled away by limiting Chicago to 14 points in the third quarter.

Butler and Mirotic both missed their second straight game. Valentine felt sick at the arena and was sent back to the hotel.

Nuggets 140, Pacers 112

Italian star Danilo Gallinari and the Denver Nuggets made themselves right at home at O2 Arena.

Gallinari scored 18 points and had what coach Mike Malone said was easily his best game of the season to help Denver beat the Indiana Pacers 140-112 on Thursday night in the NBA's Global Games series.

"Just to come back to Europe and play in front of these fans, it was great," said Gallinari, who wore knee-high socks adorned with the Union Jack and London skyline. "Hopefully, the fans had a good show."

The Nuggets snapped a five-game losing streak and ended the Pacers' five-game winning streak.

"I joked with our guys after the game, `I think we're going to stay here in London and play our home games here," Malone said. "Our guys were very comfortable out there and we had one of our best performances."

Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Wilson Chandler added 21 points for the Nuggets. They outscored the Pacers 39-20 in the third quarter, shooting 73.7 percent in the period to put it away.

Denver trailed only once, when Kevin Seraphin gave the Pacers a 31-30 lead early in the second quarter, and finished with a season high in scoring.

C.J. Miles had 20 points, and Jeff Teague added 14 points and nine assists for Indiana. The Pacers had won five in a row, scoring at least 120 points in each victory.

"We didn't show up tonight. I don't have a reason for that," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "Denver, they came, showed up and played well, and I didn't think that we showed up tonight."

Thursday, January 12 Scoreboard

Denver 140, Indiana 112

New Orleans 104, Brooklyn 95

New York 104, Chicago 89

San Antonio 134, Los Angeles Lakers 94

Dallas 113, Phoenix 108

Golden State 127, Detroit 107

Friday, January 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Charlotte at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Brooklyn at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Miami at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Houston, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Boston at Altanta, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Portland, 9 p.m.

Cleveland at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.

Detroit at Utah, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 14 Schedule (All Times Central)

Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers, 2:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Chicago, 4 p.m.

San Antonio at Phoenix, 5 p.m.

Philadelphia at Washington, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Utah, 8 p.m.

Sunday, January 15 Schedule (All Times Central)

Minnesota at Dallas, 1 p.m.

New York at Toronto, 2 p.m.

Milwaukee at Atlanta, 2 p.m.

Houston at Brooklyn, 5 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Sacramento, 8 p.m.

Chicago at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Detroit at Los Angeles Lakers, 8:30 p.m.