Coach Tiago Splitter's Chicago Bulls fell to 1-4 on the season after a hard-fought 133-127 loss to Mike Brown's New York Knicks in the Big Apple as offseason acquisition Norman Powell waged a scoring battle with Jalen Brunson.

Brunson outscored Powell, 38-30, in the Knicks' win, which included a 43-31 fourth quarter that proved to be Splitter's team's undoing.

After the game, Brunson shared a heartfelt message of commonality, love and support about King, the Bulls broadcaster who died from hypertensive cardiovascular disease this offseason. 

Brunson shared that he and King have common ground dating back to Brunson's playing days as a high schooler at Adelai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., where he graduated in 2015. 

"Can I say one thing? I just wanted to say RIP, Stacey King who we lost recently," Brunson said after the Knicks' win. "A person I knew when I was in high school out here. He supported our team, his kids went to Stevenson. Just to see him not here, it's a little sad. So I just wanna say, my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. We miss him." 

King died at his home in River Forest, Illinois this past June 7. He won three NBA championships with the Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson-era Bulls, and became a larger-than-life personality among Chicago fans for his colorful expressions on team television broadcasts in recent years. 

Former Purdue basketball star Robbie Hummel has begun filling in for him on Bulls broadcasts. Several Bulls representatives have expressed fond memories of King in recent weeks, including new Bulls guard Buddy Hield and play-by-play man Adam Amin. 

The Bulls are preparing for their sixth game of the season, a road tilt with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Tatum has become healthy with the Celtics this season and is scoring 28 points per game, nearly five points more than last season's average with coach Joe Mazzulla's squad. 

The Celtics franchise ranks first all-time in NBA history with 18 championships, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers with 17 and the Golden State Warriors with seven. The Bulls are next with six NBA titles, all of which came from the Pippen/Jordan/Jackson era in the 1990s. 

The Celtics have won five of the last six games in their all-time series against the Bulls, with the last Chicago win coming in January 2026 at the United Center in Chicago. 

The Bulls will have an uphill battle to secure their second win of the season. Splitter, Powell and others have shown signs in limited action, but as Brunson proved Wednesday, there are levels to the NBA game and Chicago still must endure a long journey to reach them.