Knicks Vs Bulls: Karl-Anthony Towns Takes Over Late in 105-99 Escape (Feb. 22, 2026)

The knicks vs bulls matchup on Feb. 22, 2026 ended 105-99 as Karl-Anthony Towns took control in the closing minutes, scoring seven of his team’s final 11 points to push New York past Chicago. The result matters now because it halted a tense finish for the Knicks and magnified the Bulls’ descent amid roster changes and minutes limits.

knicks vs bulls: Towns' late takeover

Towns erupted down the stretch, converting seven of New York’s last 11 points and delivering the decisive sequence that turned a one-point game into a six-point lead in the final half-minute. Mikal Bridges then buried a corner 3-pointer with 26 seconds left after Jalen Brunson kicked out for the wide-open look, sealing the margin and ending a tense finish that had felt in doubt until that sequence.

Karl-Anthony Towns' box score and defensive honors

Towns finished as the Knicks’ top scorer and rebounder with 29 points and 11 rebounds, and he connected on five of nine three-point attempts. He also collected three steals and was awarded defensive player of the game by New York’s coaching staff. Coach Mike Brown summarized the effort simply: "Our guys just found a way. " He added of Towns, "Not only did he get a double-double, he was great for us defensively. "

Jalen Brunson and Bridges' late impact

Brunson paced the backcourt with 19 points and nine assists, orchestrating the final possessions that freed up Bridges for the go-ahead triple. Bridges’ corner 3 with 26 seconds remaining, off Brunson’s kick-out, produced a six-point cushion that the Knicks held to the final buzzer.

Bulls' roster moves, minutes restrictions and streak

Chicago fell to 24-34, extending its losing streak to nine games — the franchise’s worst skid since 2019 — and the team is described as headed toward a bottoming-out direction. Three Bulls starters were operating on minutes restrictions and did not play most of the fourth quarter, and three of the team’s top veterans, including Coby White and Nikola Vucevic, were shipped off before the trade deadline. Those roster decisions and restrictions were cited as central factors in the game’s late tilt and the broader slump.

Guerschon Yabusele starts for Chicago and posts 11/13

Guerschon Yabusele, who had been phased out of the Knicks rotation earlier this season and was traded before the deadline, started at center for Chicago. He produced nine points and eight rebounds in the first half and finished with 11 points and 13 boards in 30 minutes.

Game flow: Bulls leads and the Knicks' short turnaround

Chicago led by eight in the second quarter and still held a one-point edge with under three minutes remaining in the fourth before Towns’ late run flipped the contest. The Knicks, who entered this game with a 37-21 record, arrived under less-than-ideal circumstances: they had played an 8: 30 p. m. tipoff against the Rockets the night before and then flew across a time zone to play in the Midwest. The timing matters because the late-night game and travel help explain why New York was tested deep into the fourth period despite ultimately escaping with the win.

What makes this notable is how individual performances and broader roster engineering collided in a single game: Towns’ late scoring and defensive push carried the Knicks, while the Bulls’ player-management choices and trade activity left them thin and vulnerable down the stretch. The 105-99 final score encapsulated both a hard-fought escape for New York and a marker of Chicago’s ongoing struggles.