Markkanen, Dunn Help Bulls Outlast Knicks in Two OTs

By ESPN

Lauri Markkanen had knocked down eight 3-pointers and almost knocked out his coach with a soaring slam, but Kris Dunn couldn't get anything to fall.

He kept shooting, and eventually hit the shot that put the Bulls on top for good.

Markkanen scored a season-high 33 points, Dunn shook off a nightmarish shooting night to make the tiebreaking basket in the second overtime, and Chicago beat the New York Knicks 122-119 on Wednesday night.

"It was a hard-fought win," Markkanen said. "We could have ended it a little bit earlier, but (that's) just how we won."

Dunn had missed 14 of his first 17 shots before banking in a runner with just under a minute left in the second extra period and Markkanen finished it off by making two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining.

The rookie added 10 rebounds.

"For Lauri to come in on the big stage, the World's Most Famous Arena, and hit eight 3s and play against arguably the best power forward in the league in Porzingis, play 46 minutes and hit those big free throws late, just tells you everything you need to know," coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Robin Lopez and Denzel Valentine each scored 20 points for the Bulls in their third narrow victory over the Knicks this season. Markkanen was 8 of 15 behind the arc though his highlight play was at the rim, when he threw down a dunk over Knicks center Enes Kanter .

"I damn near passed out when he dunked that one," Hoiberg said.

"When he took that full court and just cocked it back, I was speechless. I got chills. It was crazy."

Michael Beasley 26 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Knicks, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 24 points, including a dunk at the buzzer to force the second OT.

`We had opportunities. We didn't get stops at crucial times," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said.

Lopez then had the first two baskets of the second OT, and after the Knicks got the next two, Dunn made his shot to make it 118-116. He'd had plenty of easier looks that didn't fall, but his teammates and coaches told him to keep shooting.

"The mid-range, that's my shot, and I kept getting to my spots," Dunn said. "I liked the shot and it wasn't falling, and the fact that the sky floater goes in is just like, all right, if that's going to go in, then we're going to have to accept it."

Jarrett Jack had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double in six years, but threw away a pass after coming up with a steal with the Knicks down two late in the second OT.

Heat 114, Pacers 106

Miami found out an eight-man rotation might be just as effective as a full bench.

Sometimes, it can even be better.

Goran Dragic scored 20 points and backup Wayne Ellington made the decisive 3-pointer with 25.5 seconds left Wednesday night to help the Heat fend off a late charge to hold on for a rare 114-106 victory at Indiana.

"None of these wins are going to come easy, but I think it just says a lot about how tough we are," Josh Richardson said after scoring 14 points and shooting 3 of 4 from 3-point range. "Every night, we have to scratch and claw for everything and it's paying off."

This game might have been their most impressive yet.

With four players sitting out because of injuries, Tyler Johnson not expected to dress and James Johnson suspended by the league for throwing punches in a victory over Toronto, the Heat showed up at Bankers Life Fieldhouse expecting only seven players to be available for their second road game in two nights.

Tyler Johnson, it turns out, managed to play through a sprained left shoulder giving coach Erik Spoelstra one more body to divvy up the minutes.

And he needed every one.

Ellington, Johnson and Bam Adebayo all played more than 30 minutes, all scored 15 points off the bench and all made key plays throughout the game as Miami won its sixth in a row and snapped a 10-game road losing streak against the Pacers.

Hassan Whiteside added 16 points and 15 rebounds.

"We knew it was going to be tough here. (Indiana) plays extremely well at home," Spoelstra said. "They're athletic. They have great team speed. It wasn't a perfect game by any means, but it was probably a little bit more to our pace and our liking."

It was good enough to fend off the hard-charging Pacers, who had won their previous two games.

Victor Oladipo had 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Lance Stephenson gave Indiana a late boost of energy that nearly led Indiana back from a 10-point deficit in the final 9:57. Stephenson wound up with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Miami showed no sign of fatigue early, shooting better than 60 percent for most of the first two quarters and took a 58-47 lead at halftime.

And when Indiana used a 14-2 run to get within 65-63, the Heat fought through the weariness again.

Indiana blew its first chance to tie the score, or take the lead, when Al Jefferson drew an offensive foul late in the third. The Heat then retook an 84-78 lead after three and extended the margin to 90-80 early in the fourth on a basket by Adebayo.

That's when the Pacers turned it on. They scored six straight to make it 92-89 and used another 6-0 spurt to finally tie it at 97 on Stephenson's 18-footer with 5:09 left.

But Miami broke the tie on Johnson's 3 and put it away when Ellington's shot dropped in for to make it 109-103.

"They hit some tough shots," Oladipo said. "They've been hitting tough shots every win, the last three or four wins, down to wire and they executed again. Credit them, they did a great job."

Wednesday, January 10 Scoreboard

Dallas 115, Charlotte 111

Miami 114, Indiana 106

Utah 107, Washington 104

Detroit 114, Brooklyn 80

Chicago 122, New York 119 (2OT)

Houston 121, Portland 112

Memphis 105, New Orleans 102

Milwaukee 110, Orlando 103

Minnesota 104, Oklahoma City 88

Atlanta 110, Denver 97

Los Angeles Clippers 125, Golden State 106

Thursday, January 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

Boston at Philadelphia, 2 p.m.

Cleveland at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

San Antonio at Los Angeles Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Friday, January 12 Schedule (All Times Central)

Utah at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Cleveland at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Orlando at  Washington, 6 p.m.

Brooklyn at Atlanta, 6:309 p.m.

Golden State at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

New York at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Portland at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Denver, 8 p.m.

Houston at Phoenix, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas, 1 p.m.

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

Oklahoma City at Charlotte, 4 p.m.

Brooklyn at Washington, 6 p.m.

Golden State at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Denver at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 14 Schedule (All Times Central)

Milwaukee at Miami, noon

New Orleans at New York, 2:30 p.m.

Indiana at Phoenix, 7 p.m.

Portland at Minnesota, 8 p.m.