New York Knicks guard Arron Afflalo (No 4) drives to the basket against Chicago Bulls forward Tony Snell (No 20) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

DPA/Los Angeles


When the Chicago Bulls predictably ran out of gas, that allowed the New York Knicks to continue cruising.  
Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points Saturday night and the Knicks took advantage of the exhausted Bulls for a 107-91 home victory, their fourth straight triumph.  
Arron Afflalo added 18 points for the Knicks (14-14), who matched their longest winning streak of the season and climbed back to .500 for the first time since December 4. It marks the latest point New York has been at .500 since the 2012-13 season, the last time it made the playoffs.  
“We’re playing together, working hard on the defensive end of the court, just playing a smart game,” Afflalo said.  
Both teams played Friday night, but the Knicks played in nearby Philadelphia and cruised to a 107-97 victory. Meanwhile, the Bulls played four overtimes against the Detroit Pistons, losing 147-144.  Chicago did not arrive at its hotel in New York until after 4 a.m.  local time and travelled without Spanish star Pau Gasol, who was left at home for rest and treatment.  
After Chicago somehow jumped out to a 12-2 lead, the effects were obvious. The Bulls shot under 40 percent (37-of-94) from the field and allowed the Knicks to shoot 50 percent (41-of-82). The starting backcourt of Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose, who combined for 77 points in 110 minutes Friday, made just 7-of-21 shots as a tandem.  
“Everybody felt it tonight,” said Rose, who scored six points on 3-of-10 shooting. “I think everybody gave it their all, at least what they had, and just didn’t have it tonight.”
“They had a long game yesterday,” Afflalo said. “We fed off our crowd and played with a lot of energy.”   
Anthony scored nine points in a 16-2 run that closed the first quarter and gave New York the lead for good. His basket late in the second period gave the Knicks a 49-35 advantage.  
With Gasol back in Chicago and the rest of the roster gassed, the Bulls gave extended minutes to rookie Bobby Portis, who scored eight points in the final 2 ½ minutes of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 77-68. But a layup by Langston Galloway rebuilt the lead to 85-68 with 9:56 to play, and the Knicks cruised from there.  
“I thought after those first couple minutes we played great basketball,” said Anthony, who made 12-of-20 shots.  
Lance Thomas scored 13 points and Latvian rookie Kristaps Porzingis added 10 for the Knicks, who led by double digits for virtually the entire second half.  
France’s Joakim Noah started for Gasol and totaled 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who have lost two in a row following a four-game winning streak. Portis had season highs of 20 points and 11 boards.  
“You’ve got to find a way to muster up energy and fight through the tough times,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “I didn’t feel we did a very good job of that tonight.”
Elsewhere: Oklahoma City Thunder 118, Los Angeles Lakers 78: Kevin Durant scored 22 points and Turkey’s Enes Kanter added 19 and 14 rebounds as the host Thunder won for the seventh time in eight games. The Lakers rested Kobe Bryant and have lost eight of nine.  
Houston Rockets 107, Los Angeles Clippers 97: Dwight Howard totaled 22 points and 14 rebounds for the host Rockets, who have won two in a row. Blake Griffin scored 22 points for the Clippers, who have dropped two straight.  
Washington Wizards 109, Charlotte Hornets 101: John Wall collected 27 points and 12 assists for the host Wizards, who had lost four of five. Kemba Walker scored 18 points for the Hornets, who have lost three of four.   
Memphis Grizzlies 96, Indiana Pacers 84: Mike Conley scored 20 points and Spain’s Marc Gasol added 19 and 11 boards for the host Grizzlies, who stopped a two-game skid. Paul George scored 29 points for the Pacers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.