Larry Hughes is never bashful about taking a shot. What he really enjoys is putting one up in a tight game.
"I'm not going to turn them down. It's going to be one of two things. It's going to go in or it's not. As long as it's a good look and one of my teammates finds me, I'm definitely willing to take the shot," Hughes said Tuesday night after his late 3-pointer sent the Chicago Bulls to a 105-100 victory over the New York Knicks.
Al Harrington shot 13-for-21 from the field and finished with 28 points to lead the Knicks, who used only seven players in the fast-paced game.
Quentin Richardson added 22 points, while Chris Duhon scored 15, had 14 assists and grabbed nine rebounds in his return to the United Center, while playing 45 minutes and 14 seconds. Duhon spent his first four seasons with Chicago before signing with the Knicks as a free agent.
Hughes connected to break a 97-all tie with 55 seconds left on a shot from in front of the Knicks' bench after a pass from Ben Gordon.
"I caught it in rhythm and Ben gave me a nice pass. We needed it. It's always good to make one when it counts," Hughes said.
Drew Gooden led the Bulls with a season-high 22 points and 16 rebounds. Gordon, who tied the game at 97 with a 3-pointer, added 17 points and Hughes had 16. Hughes, who missed the first eight games this season with a dislocated shoulder, sank a game-winner at the buzzer last month against Utah.
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David Lee had 11 points and 15 boards for New York.
"It was fun. I expected to get booed. But they were pretty kind to me," Duhon said. "I'm thankful for that. But it was fun to compete against those guys and catch up with them. ... I wish we would have gotten the win. The win would have been the icing."
The Knicks forged a five-point lead in the fourth as Richardson hit a 3-pointer and added another basket, and Jared Jeffries made a baseline jumper.
Gordon's 3-pointer tied it at 97 with just under three minutes remaining. New York made just one field goal in the final four minutes.
"We ran out of gas a little bit toward the end," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "But I was really happy with the effort and what we did for most of the game. We'll get better."
Richardson, the Chicago native who played at DePaul, took a nice pass from another DePaul product, Wilson Chandler, for a flying dunk late in the first half. He was fouled and made the free throws, a three-point play that tied the game at 40 as the Knicks erased an 11-point deficit.
Richardson had 10 points the period, including a 3-pointer and a nice left-handed shot, but the Bulls regained a two-point cushion at the half.
Bulls rookie Derrick Rose, who needed 10 stitches to close a cut on his left forearm from a freak accident at home Monday morning, was able to play and scored 15 points, including a dazzling drive for a basket in the fourth quarter after dribbling between his legs.
He told reporters he suffered the cut in his bed when he rolled on a knife that he'd been using to peel an apple. Rose said he went to get a bottle of water and when he returned to his bed, he forgot the knife was there and it slashed his arm.
Notes: D'Antoni reiterated he's never had any regrets picking the Knicks over the Bulls. The Bulls interviewed D'Antoni for their head coaching job last spring, but by the time they were ready to present their offer, he'd agreed to coach the Knicks. Before Tuesday night's game, D'Antoni called his decision a difficult one. "At one point you got to sit down and you make a choice. It was nothing they did, or didn't do or could have done. I knew New York was a big challenge and they really recruited me," he said. "That night when I made the decision, it felt good and it still does. I'm glad I did it. But at the same time, I hope everybody knows it's not a slight to Chicago." ... Sitting in a lower level box at the United Center were Vice President-elect Joe Biden and David Axelrod, an advisor to Barack Obama. They got a loud ovation when shown the videoboard over the court, and Biden stood up and waved to the crowd.
