Those days are long gone, but the Knicks and Bulls still played an entertaining game on the afternoon of Martin Luther King Day. Guard Quentin Richardson led the Knicks with 24 points, as New York defeated Chicago, 102-98 at Madison Square Garden. Forward Loul Deng and point guard Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 20 points each.

The game was evenly matched the entire afternoon, with the Knicks going into the half leading 57-54. It wasn’t all good vibes going into halftime as center David Lee limped off the court after he rolled his ankle. Fortunately, he was able to play in the second half after wrapping his ankle.

Forward Danilo Gallinari saw a good amount of floor time again in his second game back from injury. In the 16 minutes he played, he scored a career-high nine points and also came up big on the defensive end with four rebounds and two steals. The crowd was into it every time he touched the ball. The 20-year old brings a type of energy that is contagious on the court. While his defense may come along slower than his offense does, Gallinari still nonetheless hustled, which doesn’t go unnoticed by his teammates.

“Coming from Italy and coming over here and being a young guy he wants to prove that he is going to be a good help for this team and a good person for the franchise long term,” Lee said.

The fact remains, however, that when Gallinari is out on the floor, the team needs to get him the ball more often. While it’s a small sample size, he has shown the ability to hit jumpers, post up down-low and drain three-pointers. Nate Robinson needs to feed him the ball more and get the kid further acclimated to scoring on the NBA level.

Robinson may start to be realizing that sooner rather than later though, as with 10:22 left in the fourth quarter, he fed Gallinari the ball, which the rookie took to the basket for his first career dunk. He hung off the rim like a crazed monkey as the crowd went wild. The cheering for the rookie continued as he nailed a three-pointer from the corner to give the Knicks a four-point lead with 9:59 left in regulation.

The other first-rounder from last year’s draft, Rose, showed what all the hype surrounding him was about. He handled the ball smoothly, netting 20 points and dishing out eight assists. With 6:16 left in the fourth quarter, he threw the ball up to the basket, which forward Tyrus Thomas dunked down to bring the Bulls to within two points.

After his team fell behind, Richardson, the leading scorer in the game for the Knicks, nailed a clutch three-pointer with 2:09 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 97.

New York’s hero late in the game was point guard Chris Duhon. The former Bull scored four of the team’s last five points. The most important two, however, was when Duhon started dribbling from behind the arc, driving right under the basket for a tough lay-up. It was a gutsy move, but it was the key bucket as it gave New York a 99-98 lead with 31 seconds left in regulation. The Knicks would hold on for the win.

“He plays such a big part. He comes up with the big charge and big bucket at the end. He gutted it out, which I expected him to do,” Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said of his point guard. “It does cause some anxiety on our side, but he’s competitive all the way through.”

While it was a terrific win for the Knicks, whose record now stands at 18-24, there is still much improvement to be made. Too many loose balls are not being picked up and there are still too many interceptions caused by lazy passes.

D’Antoni, of course, notices this and said his team’s play must improve. “I don’t want to be simple, but most NBA games come down to guys either stepping up and hitting big shots or making a big defensive play, and we got to have more of that. Maybe it’s putting the right guys on the floor. It’s also confidence. It’s getting to think you’re going to hit the big shots.”

Lee, who had yet another double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds, was chanting “Danilo Gallinari” in a very Italian accent in the locker room after the game. Gallinari smiled after hearing this and gave a little nod to his teammate. He finally is starting to feel like he’s becoming a part of the team. With a few more opportunities he can become a big-time contributor for New York. Lee wasn’t the only Knick pumped up to see the kid play, as Richardson praised Gallinari saying he adds a “buzz to the crowd” when he enters a game.

He added a buzz to the Garden during last year’s NBA draft, too, but it was the wrong kind of buzz as Knicks fans were skeptical of the pick and started booing. With his competitive energy and smooth shooting prowess, Gallinari is now adding another kind of buzz to Madison Square Garden, however, this time it’s the right kind. The kind of buzz that will hopefully allow the Knicks to win more close games like this one.

In a nutshell, those simple words best describe the spectacle that will be archived as Bulls 100, Knicks 83. There was nothing relevant about this particular game, unless there is some direct correlation between how Jim Boylan’s team won today, and how Scott Skiles’ unit won December 14 at the United Center. Skiles was axed on Christmas Eve, and Boylan was named to replace him three days later.

Ben Gordon, back in a reserve role, led all scorers with 25 points on 11-of-15 from the field. Luol Deng added 17, with seven assists and six assists. Kirk Hinrich and Joe Smith finished with 13 apiece, and Hinrich led the way with eight assists. Ben Wallace, still a force beneath the rim, grabbed 10 boards.

“Everybody is [playing] more relaxed,” Gordon said, in assessing the coaching change. “We are trying to play together. Guys are moving the ball, and trying to get open shots. That is when we are at our best.”

In Boylan’s debut on Friday night [a 103-99 win against the Milwaukee Bucks], Gordon had tallied a team-high 31 points, five boards and four assists.

Meanwhile, New York’s losing ways can be attributed to an inconsistent starting line-up. Through 28 games, Isiah Thomas has penciled in nine such arrangements, and that number figures to grow.

Granted, Stephon Marbury’s season in hell has already created several unexpected problems. Now, there is the matter of Jamal Crawford’s bruised right hand that was injured during Friday’s practice, [x-rays of which were taken as Isiah Thomas spoke during the pre-game press conference].

“I was playing defense, and my hand went into someone’s knee,” Crawford recounted. “I banged it hard, both on the back and front of the knuckle. I can’t close it all the way, and I can’t straighten it all the way. It has gotten better [since then] so, hopefully, I will be back by Wednesday.”

“Jamal has done a great job in terms of emerging [as a leader],” Thomas said. “He has held the team together in some adverse situations and, in terms of leadership, has become the focal point on this team.”

For his part, Crawford –who averages a team-high 19.2 points per game- defended the organization’s decision to delay the examination.

“[Saturday] would have been tough, because I would’ve had to go to a regular hospital, and I, probably, wouldn’t have gotten out of there until late at night.”

Subsequently, the Knicks started Nate Robinson in his place. And, while Robinson did led New York with 19 points, five assists, and three steals, those numbers never really mattered.

The home team was down by eight points after one quarter, and 16 entering the fourth. From 65-55, with better than three minutes on the clock in the third, Chicago’s double-digit margin was never seriously threatened. In fact, the closest New York was previous to that was a 19-all first quarter tie, produced only when David Lee dunked with 5:06 remaining.

By virtue of an 11-3 spurt –highlighted by Hinrich [five points during the run, 11 over the first twelve minutes], and four from Gordon-, the Bulls zoomed to 30-22 lead, and never looked back.

Zach Randolph, starting in place of Eddy Curry at center, finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. However, the point total is deceiving, as Randolph missed 15 of 23 shots. Quentin Richardson [13 points] missed 11 of 16 FGA’s. Curry tallied 12 points and eight boards, but missed six of nine shots.

As a team, the Knicks converted just 37.2% of their 86 field goal attempts, which included a 4-of-15 effort from beyond the arc.