New York Knicks vs Chicago Bulls Injury Report and Game Preview

One night after picking up their first win of the season, the New York Knicks are back on the floor Wednesday at the United Center against a Chicago Bulls team that did not play on Tuesday.

Tip is set for 8 p.m. ET, and both teams come in at 1-3, so one of them gets a chance to climb out of a rough first week.

New York beat the Detroit Pistons 111-97 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, handing Detroit its first loss of the season after the Knicks dropped their first three games to Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando.

The Knicks trailed 38-25 after the first quarter, but they outscored Detroit 63-25 over the next two quarters, including a 37-13 third quarter that flipped the whole night.

Center Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 27 points and 20 rebounds after head coach Mike Brown challenged him at halftime to do a better job on the glass, while guard Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and went 13-for-16 at the free-throw line on a 5-for-18 shooting night.

Guard Mikal Bridges found his shot with 12 points and four 3-pointers after making none in the first three games, which had to feel good for Brown after he stood behind him during the slump.

Brown was not getting carried away, and said after the win that his team still has plenty to build on.

"Nothing's really fixed. What tonight shows us is we're more than capable if we put our minds to it, and that's what we got to continue to try to build off of."

Guard Jose Alvarado is the only Knicks player on the injury list at ESPN, which has him listed as day-to-day with a sprained ankle.

He sat out Sunday's game against Orlando, and SNY had him ruled out against the Pistons too, so I would not count on him in Chicago until the Knicks say otherwise.

The official NBA injury report lists center Nic Claxton as out for Chicago with a left hamstring strain, while forward Patrick Williams is questionable with a right adductor strain and forward Tobe Awaka is questionable with a left ankle sprain.

If Williams and Awaka also sit, Chicago will have even fewer big bodies to throw at Towns.

New York cannot afford another slow first quarter on the second night of a back-to-back against a rested team.

Chicago has given up 129.5 points per game, including a 134-99 loss at Boston on Monday, which gives a Knicks offense stuck at 104 points per game a chance to get going if it keeps doing the little things Brown has been asking for.

The Bulls still have scorers who can hurt them, as guard Norman Powell scored 20 points and forward Caleb Wilson added 17 in that loss to Boston.

After Wednesday, the Knicks visit Philadelphia on Friday, while the Bulls play at Boston that same night.

These two teams meet again on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden, and I think a second straight win in Chicago would go far toward making the 0-3 start look like a bad week instead of a bad sign for the defending champions.