The Chicago Bulls' dream start to the 2025-26 NBA season ended emphatically on Sunday with a 128-116 loss to the New York Knicks. New York shot 20-for-42 from 3-point range (47.6 percent) and 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) in the first half -- a statistic that highlighted the Bulls' overlooked inability to defend the three-ball.
Billy Donovan's squad has been one of the league's most pleasant surprises over the year's first few weeks. Chicago started 5-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 campaign and was the second-to-last team to finally draw an "L" (the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder are the only remaining unbeaten).