The New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls 133-127 on Wednesday night at the United Center, turning a 19-point deficit into their second straight win after an 0-3 start to the season. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks Bulls comeback with 38 points and seven assists, scoring 14 of those points in the fourth quarter, while Karl-Anthony Towns returned from a first-half wrist scare to finish with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Chicago led 62-56 at halftime, helped by a half-court shot at the buzzer from Tre Jones. Jones was one of five Bulls players with nine points at the break, while Brunson had 16 for New York. The Bulls then stretched their advantage to 19 points in the second half, and for much of the night it looked as though the defending champions would slip back into the problems that marked their winless start.
New York refused to fold. OG Anunoby scored 23 points, Jordan Clarkson added 18 off the bench, and Landry Shamet finished with 14 as the Knicks steadily cut into the lead. Clarkson opened the decisive stretch with a turnaround jumper, and Brunson then scored to make it 124-114 with 3:45 remaining, capping a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter that put the Knicks in control.
Chicago closed to 130-127 with 46 seconds left, and Powell had a chance to tie the game on a late three-point attempt. He missed, and Brunson and Anunoby combined for three foul shots in the final seconds to seal the 133-127 win. The Bulls shot 18 for 42 from three-point range, but could not find the one shot they needed most when the game was on the line.
The box score underlined how complete Brunson's night was. He shot 13 for 25 from the field and 6 for 10 from three-point range, adding two steals to his seven assists. Towns shot 7 for 14 with three three-pointers, five assists and one steal in 28 minutes, limited in part by foul trouble. Anunoby shot 7 for 16, Clarkson 7 for 11, and Shamet 5 for 10, including 4 for 7 from deep. Tyler Kolek added nine assists off the bench, and Andre Drummond grabbed 11 rebounds.
For Chicago, Powell shot 10 for 15 in his 30-point night. Caleb Wilson scored 20, Matas Buzelis finished with 17 and passed 2,000 career points, and Jalen Smith added 17 points and 11 rebounds. The result left the Bulls with a fourth loss in five games, while the Knicks improved to 2-3.
The win mattered because of where the Knicks had been just 24 hours earlier. New York opened the season with three straight defeats, then beat the Detroit Pistons 111-97 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night for its first win. Towns had 27 points and a season-high 20 rebounds in that game, and Brunson added 23 points, as the Knicks finally looked more like the team that won the title last season.
Wednesday brought a different test: a road game in Chicago less than a day after the home win, with the team reportedly not arriving in Chicago until about 3 a.m. on Wednesday. A slow start, a 19-point hole and two injury scares would have been an easy excuse for a flat night. Instead, the Knicks produced their second comeback win in two nights, and their first road win of the young season.
Chicago, by contrast, has struggled to close games. The Bulls led by a large margin in the second half, had the crowd behind them at the United Center, and still lost their fourth game in five. Powell's scoring kept them in front for long stretches, but the Bulls could not stop Brunson when the game tightened, and their late rally fell one shot short.
The turning point was not one shot but a sustained fourth-quarter response. New York's bench gave it life: Clarkson's scoring, Shamet's shooting and Kolek's playmaking kept possessions moving, while Drummond's rebounding gave the starters extra chances. When Anunoby's layup put the Knicks ahead during the rally, the momentum shifted for good, even though Chicago kept answering.
Brunson's fourth quarter was the difference. He scored 14 points in the final period, attacked Powell off the dribble, and hit a crucial three-pointer after a crossover that drew a loud celebration on the court. The NBA's social-media account captured the mood with the caption: "THE BRUNSON BURNER CAME ALIVE IN CHI-TOWN!" followed by his line of 38 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, seven assists and six three-pointers.
Defensively, the Knicks also tightened up when it mattered. Chicago had scored freely in the first half and built its big lead, but New York's fourth-quarter run came with stops, not just shot-making. That combination — stops, bench scoring and a star guard taking over — is the formula the Knicks will need if they are to defend their title over a long season.
The most worrying moments of the night came in the first half, and both involved Knicks players who returned to finish the game. Towns appeared to hurt his left wrist in a collision with Bulls forward Noa Essengue, fell to the floor clutching the wrist, and headed to the locker room. He came back a few minutes later with his left hand bandaged and went on to record a double-double.
Shamet twisted his right ankle after a dunk in the first half and also went to the back before returning before halftime. He finished with 14 points and five assists off the bench. The Knicks were already mindful of their health: Jose Alvarado remained sidelined with an ankle injury for a third consecutive game, and the team will watch the injury report closely before Friday's game.
No further details about the severity of Towns' wrist injury were immediately available after the game, according to reports, and his status for Friday will be one to watch. For now, the fact that he returned, played through foul trouble and still produced 19 points and 13 rebounds will reassure Knicks fans — but a bandaged hand on a star centre is never a detail to ignore.
For New York, this was more than one win. An 0-3 start had raised early questions about a defending champion, and back-to-back wins — first at home against Detroit, then on the road from 19 down in Chicago — suggest the Knicks have found their footing. Brunson snapping out of an early shooting slump matters most of all: he shot 52 percent from the field on Wednesday after shooting 36.6 percent across the first four games, and his season highs in points, assists, steals and three-pointers arrived on a night when his team needed all of them.
For Chicago, the loss is a warning. Leading by 19 at home and losing is the kind of result that sticks with a young team, especially one that has now lost four of five. Powell's 30 points, Wilson's 20 and Buzelis passing 2,000 career points are bright spots, but the Bulls need to learn how to close games against elite opponents. Friday's trip to Boston will not make that lesson any easier.
Across the league, the game also fits an early-season theme: injuries are already shaping results. The Knicks survived two scares in one night, while other contenders have lost key players for long stretches. Depth, and the ability to win when a star is banged up, may decide more games in October and November than any single tactical change.
The Knicks travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers on Friday night, the team that spoiled their ring night earlier in the season. The Bulls travel to Boston to face the Celtics on Friday night. Both teams will release updated injury reports before those games, and Towns' wrist and Shamet's ankle will be the first items Knicks fans check.
If Towns is fit, New York will look to extend its winning run to three games and climb back above .500 for the first time this season. If he is limited, the bench production from Clarkson, Shamet and Kolek on Wednesday shows the Knicks have options — but none of them replaces a 19-point, 13-rebound centre.
The Knicks beat the Bulls 133-127 at the United Center in Chicago on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points on 13-for-25 shooting, including 6-for-10 from three-point range, with seven assists and two steals. He scored 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Towns hurt his left wrist in a first-half collision with Noa Essengue, left briefly, then returned with his hand bandaged and finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds. No further details about the severity were immediately available after the game.
The win improved New York to 2-3 after an 0-3 start, with back-to-back wins over Detroit and Chicago. The Bulls fell to a fourth loss in five games.
The Knicks visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night, while the Bulls visit the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
Related coverage: Knicks beat Pistons 111-97 as Towns powers first win after winless 0-3 start; Stephen Curry perfect night powers Warriors past Nuggets 134-114 for first win; Thunder beat Suns 125-114 as Mitchell's career-high 30 keeps OKC perfect at 4-0.
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