CHICAGO — Mikal Bridges was benched and the rest of the guards took over.
Jalen Brunson, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek were all significant contributors to the 133-127 comeback victory by the Knicks over the Bulls on Wednesday night, combining for 52 points in the second half as the struggling Bridges watched from his seat.
A day after collecting a DNP against the Pistons, Clarkson caught fire with 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter — shooting 7-for-11 overall. Shamet finished with 14 points and five assists in 32 minutes. Kolek had nine points and nine assists. Brunson, who dropped 38 points, finished exquisitely, including a crossover-to-a-trey that wowed the crowd at the United Center.
The Knicks (2-3) overcame a 19-point third-quarter deficit to win their second in two nights.
But they also almost blew it. With 25 seconds left and a 3-point lead, Karl-Anthony Towns flubbed a layup under the hoop. Chicago’s Norman Powell then missed a potential tying trey, and Brunson closed the win by hitting one of his two free throws.
Bridges, who has alternated between missing shots and disappearing this season, was benched for all but three minutes of the second half. He finished with just three points in 13 minutes, his shortest appearance as a Knick outside of the two times Bridges was subbed out in seconds to maintain his consecutive games streak.
OG Anunoby was also on the bench down the stretch as Brown rode the hot hands of Shamet and Clarkson.
The Knicks were operating on a back-to-back with an excuse to be tired. They had a late tipoff Tuesday in MSG, won a hard-fought game against the Pistons, then didn’t land in Chicago until about 3:30 a.m. — less than 16 hours before tipoff against the Bulls.
They didn’t respond well until the fourth quarter.
Their sloppy first half ended, appropriately, with a blunder. Or maybe just confusion.
Andre Drummond tipped in Josh Hart’s missed shot with one second left, but the refs negated the bucket because the ball wasn’t out of the cylinder. As the Bulls were trying to inbound the ball, assistant Rick Brunson was signaling for a replay challenge to head coach Mike Brown, who appeared to shoot down the idea.
The Bulls then connected on a half-court shot at the buzzer — a potential five-point swing in their favor — and took a six-point lead into the break. Chicago maintained its momentum in the third quarter, building out an 87-68 advantage. The Knicks were, at that point, out of rhythm, a trend in this early season. Towns again accumulated fouls and turnovers. He picked up his fourth personal quickly in the third quarter, and the Bulls stepped on the gas before Kolek helped pump the brakes.
Behind a few big plays from the backup point guard — including a pair of treys — the Knicks cut the deficit to 6 heading into the fourth quarter. A manageable deficit for the fourth-quarter surge.
There were a couple of injury scares in the first half. False alarms.
Midway through the first quarter, Towns had the ball at the elbow and was knocked hard to the court by defender Noa Essengue. Towns hurt his left hand during the spill and writhed in pain on the United Center hardwood. He went to the locker room but reemerged quickly with tape on his hand and wrist. Towns finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
With 9:26 left in the second quarter, Shamet limped to the locker room after twisting his ankle. He completed a dunk, took a step, and clipped his foot on a Bulls defender. Like Towns, Shamet returned quickly.
