Chicago 104, New York 99. Brutal loss for the Knicks, who were in it the until the very end, when the toll of giving up 22 offensive rebounds finally crushed their spirit. (Boy do the Knicks miss Jared Jeffries.) Chicago was without Luol Deng, but got a solid game from Marquette rookie Jimmy Butler.

Derrick Rose scored 32 points (on 29 shots), none finer than this give-and-go slam in the 4th. Melo ended up with 21 points on 21 shots, but many of those came in the final 90 seconds with New York frantically trying to rally. Frankly, I thought Melo could have used more shots tonight.

New York is a 1/2 game up on Milwaukee for the last playoff spot. If you read this post prior to the All-Star break, you knew the struggles were coming. I had been hoping for a 5-5 record in their 10 games after the break; they’re 1-7 and still have to play Portland and Indiana twice.

[Rose dunk vid via Pete]