New York Knicks Hand Chicago Bulls Ninth Consecutive Loss, 105-99

The Bulls' winless February continues.

Despite showing fight down the stretch, Chicago couldn't find a way to topple the Knicks at home on Sunday night. New York — the No. 3 team in the Eastern Conference at 37-21 — knocked down several clutch shots to give the Bulls their ninth loss in a row, 105-99.

In eight previous defeats this month, the Bulls were outscored by an average of 17.9 points per game. They led the star-studded Knicks with under three minutes to go, but three-pointers from Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges helped New York finish the night on an 11-4 run.

Towns had 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Knicks. Jalen Brunson scored 17 points, despite shooting inefficiently, and dished out eight assists.

Matas Buzelis' 15 points were the most among the five Bulls that finished in double figures. Guerschon Yabusele notched an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double against his former team, which traded him for Dalen Terry on Feb. 5.

Josh Giddey had a rough shooting night for the second time in three games since returning from a hamstring strain. One day after going for 27 points on five triples, Giddey scored just four points on 2-of-10 from the floor.

Eight of the first nine shots Chicago attempted came from beyond the arc, but just one found the bottom of the net. That put the Bulls in an early hole until Nick Richards used his physicality to attack the glass. The big man grabbed three rebounds — two offensive — and drew three separate trips to the line in the opening quarter.

Richards' seven points gave the Bulls a 27-25 lead after one, despite the team's shaky start. The advantage grew as large as eight points when Buzelis drilled a corner three off of Patrick Williams' fifth assist of the night.

New York rallied back, though, with three-pointers from Jose Alvarado and Landry Shamet. The Knicks tied the game at 52 before the break, but Shamet fouled Rob Dillingham on a triple with 0.2 seconds remaining. Dillingham made one of his three free throws to put the Bulls up by one at halftime.

The Knicks surged to begin the third, and the Bulls had scored just 12 points nearly 10 minutes into the quarter. Buzelis helped ignite Chicago's offense late in the period with a four-point play, then a putback layup from Dillingham before the buzzer closed a 13-5 run for the Bulls. Despite trailing by 13 points with 2:22 remaining, Billy Donovan's group entered the fourth quarter down, 83-78.

Collin Sexton drilled two threes as the Bulls inched closer in the final quarter. Isaac Okoro then forced a turnover and got the ball to Giddey in transition, who threw it back to a trailing Buzelis. The second-year forward subsequently connected from downtown to put Chicago in front, 95-94, as part of an 11-0 run.

OG Anunoby stripped the ball from Giddey shortly after, and that's when Towns took over. The 7-foot big man regained New York's lead with a pull-up three, then navigated a crowded lane and dropped in a smooth finger-roll.

Bridges nailed the dagger from the corner. Brunson collapsed Chicago's defense, then fired a pass to Bridges beyond the arc to put the Knicks up six.