The Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls resume a six- game homestand tonight when they host the slumping New York Knicks.
The Bulls lost the opener of the residency to Orlando but rebounded nicely with a 111-97 win over Utah on Saturday. Carlos Boozer had 27 points and Derrick Rose scored 24 with 13 assists in that one.
Kyle Korver made six three-pointers and scored 26 for the Bulls, who bounced back from their loss to the Magic to win for the ninth time in their last 10 games.
The Bulls led by as many as 23 and won easily despite playing without Luol Deng (wrist), Richard Hamilton (shoulder), C.J. Watson (ankle) and Joakim Noah (illness). Noah is the only one of the four likely to be back in the lineup tonight.
"You know how hard you have to play to win when you're healthy and you have to play that much harder when you're short-handed. We did that tonight," said Boozer. "We went on a couple great runs in the second half to give us a cushion and it was a great win for us."
Chicago is a gaudy 16-3 in the Windy City this season and will finish its residency with bouts against Miami, Portland and Philadelphia.
New York, meanwhile, dropped its fifth straight to Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia, 106-94, on Sunday and is now just a game ahead of both Milwaukee and Cleveland for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Carmelo Anthony paced New York with 22 points and had nine boards but didn't convert a field goal over the final three quarters. Jeremy Lin donated 14 points but had a miserable shooting game and turned it over six times, while Landry Fields netted 13 for the Knicks.
Philadelphia led 51-49 at halftime before exploding for a 38-point third period.
Evan Turner and Lou Williams combined for 25 points in the frame and the visitors drained 70.6 percent (12-of-17) of their attempts overall, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
"Thirty-eight points is a lot of points," Anthony said simply. "Thirty-eight points is unacceptable."
The Sixers took their largest lead of the game at 98-77 early in the fourth and it got so bad that Knicks coach Coach Mike D'Antoni sat Anthony and Amare Stoudemire for the entire final frame.
Chicago has won two straight over New York, including a 105-102 win in Madison Square Garden back on Feb. 2.
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