The first time the Bulls and Knicks met this season, Chicago ended New York's five-game winning streak. The second matchup between the two East contenders saw four ejections -- including Joakim Noah -- in another Bulls win. What will matchup No. 3 bring? Find out tonight by tuning into Comcast SportsNet for the home call with Funk and Stacey. Coverage begins at 6:30 as Mark Schanowski and Kendall Gill bring you Bulls Pregame Live. Then Join Neil and Stacey on Comcast SportsNet, the only place to hear the Bulls home call tonight.
The Knicks have been in the headlines seemingly all season. First it was how they would share the city with the newly relocated Brooklyn Nets; then the Knicks, behind MVP frontrunner Carmelo Anthony, began the year 6-0, and won their first 10 home games; After being blown out by former point guard Jeremy Lin and the Rockets, the Knicks have now lost seven of 12 to lose their hold on first place in the East (Miami).
And everything came to a boil when Anthony confronted Boston's Kevin Garnett, who apparently had some choice words about Anthony's wife. The Knicks' star waited for Garnett outside the Celtics' locker room, and went as far as standing outside the Celtics' team bus well after the game was over.
Anthony was suspended one game for his actions -- a game the Knicks lost, 81-76, at Indiana on Thursday -- marking the seventh game he's missed this season. But if his trends this season are accurate, the Bulls may be defending against a big scoring night from Anthony -- he has returned from a missed game three times this season, averaging 36.6 points on 51.4 percent shooting in those returns.
Anthony averages almost two points per game more in Knicks' losses (30.4) than in wins (28.5), but he's still the one player the Bulls can't allow to go off. He's going to get his 23-25 points no matter what -- he has scored fewer than 23 points in just three games. But if Luol Deng can reel Anthony in like he did in the second meeting (when Anthony had 29 points but on 10-of-25 shooting) the Bulls should be in good shape.
One of the candidates for MVP, Anthony is rested, motivated and desperately needs to get his team a win. He'll face a Bulls' defense also hungry to bounce back after allowing 54 second half points to the Bucks in a 104-96 loss at home. Something's got to give between these two contenders, so tune into Comcast SportsNet to see who prevails tonight in New York City.
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