Bulls extend winning streak to seven

NEW YORK (AP) -- The words came out of Kirk Hinrich's mouth

almost matter-of-factly, words that no member of the Chicago Bulls

would have dared utter for the better part of the past decade.

"We're a good team," Hinrich said, and there was no disputing

him after the Bulls ran their winning streak to seven games Monday

with an 88-86 victory over the reeling New York Knicks.

Ben Gordon scored on a driving 8-footer with one-tenth of a

second remaining for the game-winning points, a basket that

prompted coach Scott Skiles to leap into the arms of Tyson Chandler

and Eddy Curry.

And after the Knicks botched their last attempt and the final

buzzer sounded, the smiles adorning the Bulls were a stark contrast

to the long-faced frowns draping the Knicks.

"In this stretch we're just finding ways to win. Last year we

were finding ways to lose," Hinrich said, "Hopefully, that's the

sign of a good team."

A good team, it was pointed out, is something the Bulls have

been the antithesis of since the end of the 1990s, when Michael

Jordan left and the franchise sank into an extended period of

rebuilding.

Nobody would have dared call the Bulls good in late November,

either, after they opened the season 0-9, but the seven straight

victories have left Chicago just one game below .500.

"About a month and a half ago I thought we had the makings to

be a good team, then we put together a couple of good stretches,"

Hinrich said. "We have been playing like a good team, we're No. 1

in the league in defensive field goal percentage, and that's a sign

of a good team."

Seven straight wins represents the longest winning streak for

Chicago since the 1997-98 team won 13 in a row. A member of that

team, Scottie Pippen, was in the front row at Madison Square Garden

to get a firsthand look at this edition of the Bulls.

Luol Deng led Chicago with 19 points, Hinrich had 14 points, 13

rebounds and eight assists and Andres Nocioni came off the bench to

add 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Stephon Marbury had 25 points to lead the Knicks, who lost for

the seventh time in eight games and relinquished sole possession of

first place in the Atlantic Division.

"It hurts to lose this game. We had them, and to lose at the

end hurts," the Knicks' Jamal Crawford said.

Chicago scored the final seven points of the game and held the

Knicks without a field goal over the final 3½ minutes. New York was

the Bulls' 22nd consecutive opponent held under 100 points.

The Bulls outrebounded the Knicks 56-38, with four players

grabbing at least 10.

"It's beautiful, man. Beautiful to watch and beautiful to be a

part of," Curry said.

The Bulls trailed for most of the fourth quarter, but Nocioni's

3-pointer with 56 seconds left tied it 86-86. Kurt Thomas missed a

jumper for the Knicks, and Nocioni rebounded Gordon's missed shot

at the other end to give the Bulls one last possession with 16.1

seconds remaining.

Gordon, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter,

went around a screen to free himself of Jamal Crawford, then took

two more steps into the lane and launched his game-winner over the

outstretched arm of Michael Sweetney.

"The game was dragging on -- man, it was terrible -- but in the

fourth quarter I picked it up," said Gordon, who needed to procure

nearly two dozen tickets for family and friends from his hometown

of Mount Vernon, N.Y.

On the final possession, the Knicks only had enough time to

attempt a lob toward the basket that could be tipped in.

But Jerome Williams inbounded to Kurt Thomas near the 3-point

line, and his jumper would not have counted even if it had gone in.

"There was no way for us to get a lane toward the hoop, so

there was nothing we could do," Williams said.Game notes
New York activated Crawford, who had missed 10 games with a

toe injury, from the injured list before the game. He had eight

points on 4-of-14 shooting -- including 0-for-7 on 3-pointers --

against the team with which he spent his first four NBA seasons.

... Bulls F/C Antonio Davis was a late scratch because of a stiff

back. Former Knick Othella Harrington, part of the Crawford trade

last summer, replaced Davis in the starting lineup. ... Knicks F

Tim Thomas was back after missing three games because of knee and

calf injuries. He was ineffective, missing two field goal attempts

and two foul shots in four first-half minutes. ... To make room for

Crawford on the active roster, the Knicks placed G Moochie Norris

on the injured list with Achilles tendinitis.