Chicago Bulls (43-31) vs. New York Knicks (33-42)
March 28, 2022 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: New York Knicks +4.5; Over/Under: +224
(Get latest betting odds)
The Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks collide at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
The Chicago Bulls have been in a slump as they’ve lost five of their last seven games overall, but they will be aiming to stay hot in this one after sneaking past the Cavaliers in a 98-94 road win on Saturday. Zach LaVine led the team with 25 points, DeMar DeRozan added 20 points while Nikola Vucevic chipped in with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Bulls shot 48 percent from the field and just five of 21 from the 3-point line, but this win was more about their defensive effort as they were always in control after holding the Cavaliers to just 35 points in the first half. The bench scoring is still an issue as they combined for just 16 points, but the Bulls will be pleased about Alex Caruso who flirted with a triple-double as he finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have been in fine form as they’ve won five of their last seven games overall and they will be gunning for a fourth straight victory after outlasting the Pistons in a 104-102 road win last night. RJ Barrett led the team with 21 points and nine rebounds, Julius Randle added 20 points with seven rebounds and five assists while Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley each scored 18 points. As a team, the Knicks shot just 40 percent from the field and 13 of 41 from the 3-point line as they poured in 34 points in the first quarter to lead by double-digits for most of the contest, but they had to execute late in the fourth quarter to escape with the narrow win after the Pistons rallied to tie the scores.
Looking at the betting trends, the Bulls are 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 road games, 0-4 ATS in their last four games against a team with a losing record and 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games overall. The Knicks are 1-8 ATS in their last nine home games, 5-1 ATS in their last six games playing on zero days’ rest and 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 5-1 in the last six meetings overall and the Bulls are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings in New York.
The Bulls were in a terrible slump before they were able to sneak past the Cavaliers on Saturday, but they look so much better with DeRozan back in the lineup, while the Knicks have quietly been playing some of their best basketball of the season despite missing key players in Nerlens Noel, Derrick Rose and Cam Reddish. This should be a close one, but with the Knicks playing this one on zero days’ rest, I’ll side with the Bulls to take advantage and get the much-needed win in this spot.
