Knicks Rally Past Bulls 133–127 on October 28 as Brunson Scores 38

Updated October 29, 2026, after the final result. The New York Knicks defeated the Chicago Bulls 133–127 at United Center on Wednesday, October 28, in a 2026–27 NBA regular-season game. Chicago led by as many as 19 points in the second half, but New York rallied behind Jalen Brunson's 38 points and a 43-point fourth quarter. This article was originally a matchup and player-availability guide; it now leads with the confirmed result while retaining the verified schedule, pregame context and official ways to review the game. The Chicago Bulls' official postgame video explicitly confirms both the defeat and the 133–127 score.

Knicks vs. Bulls: confirmed final score, venue and time

The original NBA schedule gave an 8:00 p.m. Eastern start, equivalent to 7:00 p.m. in Chicago. Both cities observed daylight saving time on October 28, so the correct offsets are EDT (UTC−04:00) and CDT (UTC−05:00), not their wintertime offsets. The midnight UTC date is October 29 even though the game is dated October 28 in both cities. These are scheduled start times, not a claim about the precise moment of the opening jump ball. For the matchup record, see the official NBA game hub.

How New York came back to win 133–127

Chicago carried a 62–56 halftime lead after Tre Jones made a shot from near midcourt at the second-quarter buzzer. The Bulls subsequently stretched their advantage to 19 points during the third quarter, putting the defending champions in a difficult position on the road. That lead did not hold. New York narrowed the gap late in the third and then outscored Chicago 43–31 in the fourth, turning a game that had favored the home team into the Knicks' second consecutive victory.

The decisive stretch came during the final period, when New York found offense from Brunson and its supporting cast. With 3:45 left, the Knicks had moved ahead 124–114. Chicago still threatened: the Bulls cut the margin to 130–127 with 46 seconds remaining. Norman Powell had a late three-point opportunity to tie the score, but the shot missed. Brunson and OG Anunoby then helped close out the game at the free-throw line. Those late-game details and the comeback are supported by the Associated Press game report and Reuters' game coverage.

The quarter-by-quarter scoring illustrates the swing without requiring a speculative explanation for it. New York scored 34, 22, 34 and 43 points across the four periods; Chicago scored 33, 29, 34 and 31. The teams were level at 34–34 in the third quarter, but the fourth belonged to the visitors. Chicago's strong first three quarters and New York's late scoring surge can both be true: neither should be erased when describing the final six-point margin.

Notable player performances

Brunson supplied the game's top individual scoring total, while Towns paired his offense with a double-digit rebounding night. For the Bulls, Powell's 30 points gave Chicago a leading scorer, and Wilson's 20 reinforced the importance of the younger players highlighted before the game. These are completed-game contributions, unlike the projected roles discussed in the original preview. The listed figures are supported by the AP and Reuters recaps; readers looking for a play-by-play record should use the NBA's official play-by-play link.

What the result says about the matchup

Brunson and New York's late offense made the difference

The preview asked whether Chicago could limit New York's primary creators, particularly Brunson. The final scoring and fourth-quarter comeback show why that question mattered. Brunson's 38 points did not come in an easy wire-to-wire victory; they helped New York overturn a substantial deficit. Towns and Anunoby also contributed enough scoring to keep Chicago from focusing on just one player. The result confirms the visitors' closing execution, not a blanket judgment that Chicago defended poorly in every period.

Chicago found offense but could not protect its lead

The Bulls were able to build an advantage against the defending champions and scored 127 points overall. Powell, Wilson and Buzelis each provided meaningful scoring, while Giddey recorded 11 assists. Those performances make the loss more specific than a generic claim that Chicago was ineffective offensively. The clearer problem was the change in the fourth quarter, when the Knicks scored 43 points and Chicago could not complete the final comeback attempt. The teams' differing results should be read alongside the timing of their scoring, not just the final totals.

The early-season standings are context, not a season verdict

New York entered the 2026–27 season as the reigning NBA champion, a status identified in the NBA's official schedule announcement. The Knicks opened with three losses and then recorded consecutive wins over Detroit on October 27 and Chicago on October 28, bringing their record to 2–3. Chicago fell to 1–4 with the defeat. These early records establish the immediate context, but five games do not settle either team's long-term outlook. The Knicks' comeback and the Bulls' ability to establish a large lead are both useful observations for subsequent matchups.

Player availability: what the completed game confirms

The article's original pregame version emphasized late injury and inactive checks. Those remain useful for understanding how to evaluate future NBA games, but the October 28 contest is over. The completed-game reports confirm that Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Powell, Wilson, Buzelis, Smith and Giddey appeared and contributed the totals described above. No projected starting lineup should override an actual postgame record.

The NBA's pregame game-page archive listed Jose Alvarado among New York's inactive players and Nic Claxton, Patrick Williams and Tobe Awaka for Chicago. Those are archived game-day status listings, not medical diagnoses or evidence of why someone did not play. Some indexed NBA box-score versions also retained pregame placeholder rows after the final was available. Readers should therefore distinguish the confirmed team result and independently reported completed-game performances from stale webpage placeholders. When checking a later matchup, consult the latest league injury report and the game's confirmed active roster rather than reusing October 28 designations.

Recent Knicks–Bulls history and where to follow the record

The matchup already had a varied recent history. New York beat Chicago 136–96 on April 3, 2026, and 105–99 on February 22, 2026; Chicago had won 135–125 on October 31, 2025. Those are earlier meetings, separate from the 133–127 Knicks win on October 28, 2026. Their different margins are a reminder that one prior score is not a reliable prediction of the next meeting, particularly when team personnel and game circumstances change.

Fans who missed the contest can use the Bulls' official postgame video and NBA matchup hub for team coverage and game navigation. NBA League Pass availability, replay rights and blackout restrictions vary by market, so a game's appearance in a league listing does not establish that every viewer can access the same live or archived video. The previously listed radio outlets, 104.3 The Score and 880 ESPN New York, were game-day options; they should not be confused with a guarantee that a replay remains available.

Bottom line: New York's 133–127 victory is now an official final result, not an upcoming fixture. Brunson's 38 points and the Knicks' 43–31 fourth-quarter advantage headline a comeback from 19 points down. Chicago's first-half lead, Powell's scoring and the contributions of its younger players remain part of the story. The scheduled game time was October 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Chicago (CDT, UTC−05:00), equivalent to 8:00 p.m. in New York (EDT, UTC−04:00) and October 29 at 00:00 UTC.