A game between franchises waiting for 2010 was played Thursday night in 2009. And it wasn’t pretty.
Then again, with just their third victory in 14 tries, the Bulls are in no position to judge positive outcomes.
The Bulls took advantage of the Knicks going ice cold down the stretch and used big games from Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and — yes — John Salmons to prevail 98-89 at the United Center.
Danilo Gallinari sank one of the Knicks’ franchise-record 47 3-point attempts — two off the NBA record — with 8 minutes, 35 seconds remaining for a 79-75 lead. The Knicks didn’t score again until Chris Duhon hit two free throws with 3 minutes, 40 seconds left and they finished 14 points below their season average.
Deng, who posted game-highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Gibson each scored four straight points in a game-changing 10-0 run after the Gallinari 3-pointer.
Gibson provided 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench as the Bulls played just seven players.
Salmons scored 20, icing matters with a 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left for a nine-point lead.
“That was huge,” Joakim Noah said. “We need him.”
Indeed, Salmons contributed to another slow start as the boo-birds came out early when the Knicks tied an opponent franchise record with seven first-quarter 3-pointers to seize a 34-17 lead.
The Bulls looked completely lost, particularly when the Knicks tried a zone defense, until Kirk Hinrich entered.
Hinrich and Deng sank 3-pointers late in the first to kick-start a 13-0 run that extended to the second quarter.
The Knicks, who were led by 18 points apiece from Gallinari, Duhon and Al Harrington, scored just two points in the first 6:33 of the second.
They set an NBA record by attempting 29 3-pointers in the first half and finished at an opponent season-low 36 percent.
Salmons is shooting 38.7 percent.
“It definitely has been tough; I can’t lie,” Salmons said. “I hesitated a little on a semi-break and threw the ball away because I’m not playing 100 percent confident. Hopefully, I can get back to where I was.”
The soft-spoken veteran downplayed his position switch from small forward to shooting guard for contributing to his struggles and credited his family for supporting him.
“People struggle at their job all the time,” Salmons said. “Mine is just a little more public.”
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni colorfully denied the charge this season doesn’t matter.
“I’d play Satan himself if I could win games,” D’Antoni said.
But it’s clear, with both teams’ multitude of expiring contracts, that the franchises stand poised to enter the 2010 free agent market, hoping for better days than Thursday.
Basketball purists hope so too.
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kcjohnson@tribune.com
