It looked like the New York Knicks would coast to victory when they led by 13 points with less than three minutes left on Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls. Instead, late-game chaos ensued and the Knicks had to hang on for dear life. They did, and they won 104-103 to move to 4-1 on the season.
Nobody said it would be easy yet the Knicks still handed the Bulls their first loss of the season.
Here are three takeaways from the Knicks' dramatic win over the Bulls.
The Kemba Walker addition can't be mentioned enough
It was such a massive upgrade to the starting point guard spot in the offseason when the Knicks finally moved on from Elfrid Payton and brought in Kemba Walker. The early results have been exactly what New York hoped for and it's so refreshing to have competence and shooting at the one-spot compared to what Payton brought to the table.
On Thursday night, Walker led the way with 21 points for the Knicks on five made three's. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has so many late game options and that includes whether to use Derrick Rose or Walker. On Thursday, Walker's number was called and he was critical for New York from start to finish.
It'll be fascinating to see if Thibodeau ever deploys a lineup late that features both Rose and Walker on the floor at the same time but for now, he appears to be rolling with whichever guard has the hot hand and against the Bulls, that was the Bronx native Walker.
To better put light to the upgrade shooting wise going from Payton to Walker consider this: Kemba has made 18 three-pointers in just five games for the Knicks so far this year. Last year, in 63 games played, Payton made a total of 28 three's while shooting 28% from downtown. New York needed more scoring from the backcourt and they got that when they signed Walker.
RJ Barrett is fine
There were early worries about the struggles for RJ Barrett on the offensive side of things and while it's just one game, Knicks fans can rest easy knowing that everything is fine.
Barrett scored 19 points in a season-opening win over the Boston Celtics but since then, he had scored a combined 29 points in three games following that. On Thursday night, RJ was right behind Walker, scoring 20 points for the Knicks with some timely floaters in the 4th quarter.
Consider the circumstances when wondering why Barrett hadn't been taking many shots and hadn't been efficient early on even when he did pull the trigger. New York brought in two bucket getters in the offseason that have been immediately thrusted into the starting lineup in Walker and Evan Fournier. It takes time to get a rhythm down with new teammates but when it's two starters that are new to the equation and sharing the floor, just give it patience.
Barrett has been phenomenal defensively and he showed that in the biggest moment against the Bulls when he locked down DeMar DeRozan on the final look of the game to help seal the win for the Knicks.
The shooting will be fine, the scoring will come along, it's all about getting comfortable with new surroundings for Barrett and the rest of the starting five as well. He showed on Thursday evening in Chicago that he can still be a dynamic scorer who can get it down in many different ways.
Don't fret the ending just enjoy the win
Sometimes the Knicks can make it a lot more difficult on themselves than what it needs to be.
A bucket by Julius Randle put New York up 104-91 with less than three minutes to go on Thursday. In the NBA, that usually seals it. For the Knicks, that's not the case.
One sloppy play after another and one empty possession after another allowed the Bulls to slowly crawl back into the game. All of a sudden it was a 12-0 run to make it a 104-103 game. Up stepped Randle to the free-throw line with five seconds left. Not only did he miss the first, he missed the second attempt as well. Thankfully, Barrett put the clamps on DeRozan to salt away the win for the Knicks.
While the near collapse can't be ignored and this was seen a couple of times last year with New York, for now this early on in the season, all that matters is that the Knicks still found a way to get a tough road win. They certainly need to sure-up things in those late game scenarios but they have plenty of time in the regular season to figure that out while also mixing and matching potential lineups that work in the crunch time. Or Thibs can stick with whoever is on a roll in each game individually for certain spots.
The Knicks are 4-1 and that's the key takeaway after an impressive 104-103 win over the Bulls.
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