Kris Dunn always talks about playing with a swagger.
Is there any other way to explain being able to bank home the eventual game-winning basket on a night he shot 4-for-18?
Dunn, who had missed his previous six shots, sank a runner over Kyle O’Quinn with 58.8 seconds left in the Bulls’ wild 122-119 double-overtime victory over the Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
“My team gives me confidence, (as does) the coaching staff,” Dunn said. “There was a point I missed two and everybody could see I was down because I want to make the big plays for my team. In the first overtime, I tried to look less for me, but everybody kept saying, ‘Kris, be aggressive.’ Eventually, one went in.”
One also went in when Lauri Markkanen, who scored a career-high 33 points, blew past Doug McDermott and dunked over Enes Kanter in the third quarter.
“I damn near passed out when he jammed that,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. “That was unbelievable. When he took that full court and just cocked it back, I was speechless. It was an amazing play. I got chills when he did it. It was crazy. And then to keep his cool, stay poised and hit big shots after that and battle defensively — he’s special.”
Markkanen, who rarely shows emotion, let out a primal scream as the Knicks called timeout and the Bulls’ bench erupted in celebration.
“That has to be one of the dunks of the year,” Dunn said. “That right there is going to get him in the rookie game (at All-Star weekend). We’ve seen him throw it down some in layup lines, but we haven’t seen him mash out on somebody like that. He caught me in shock mode. I didn’t even know how to celebrate it.”
After Dunn’s go-ahead basket, he then followed with decent defense on Kristaps Porzingis, who missed a jumper. Then Dunn committed a turnover, part of his wild night that also featured eight assists and five steals. But Jarrett Jack returned the favor on the ensuing possession, and Justin Holiday tacked on two free throws with 13.9 seconds left.
Porzingis sank a 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds left. Markkanen sank two free throws with 6.8 seconds left and Jack missed a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Markkanen said of his rare show of emotion. “It was awesome playing (at Madison Square Garden) for the first time.”
With Finland’s national team coach in the stands, Markkanen sank a career-high eight 3-pointers, one off the franchise record. Denzel Valentine added a career-high 20 points on a night the Bulls again lost Nikola Mirotic to a stomach virus.
Mirotic is being shopped and has made clear he would accept a trade, per a source, once he’s eligible Monday.
The Bulls never trailed in the second overtime. Hoiberg singled out David Nwaba’s defense down the stretch on Michael Beasley, who scored 26 points.
The wild game reached its apex at the end of the first overtime. Jack inbounded the ball to himself off Dunn’s back to score a tying basket. After Robin Lopez tipped home Markkanen’s miss with 39.9 seconds left and Jack and Dunn traded misses, Porzingis dunked at the buzzer off a nifty play Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek drew up.
The Bulls failed to score for the final 2:11 of regulation. Dunn airballed a step-back jumper over Porzingis with 31.1 seconds left. Nwaba then played terrific defense to block Beasley’s shot in the lane, but Porzingis made a game-saving block in transition on Markkanen’s layup off a nice feed from Dunn. Dunn, who shot 3-for-15 in regulation, then missed a jumper over Jack.
Twitter @kcjhoop
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