(My Sportsbook) - The Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks seemed destined to duel for the Eastern Conference crown every season in the Mid 90s. Michael Jordan would always render Patrick Ewing's title guarantees null and void on his way to another championship.

The rivalry that once burned like a desert highway in August is not nearly as scorching as it once was. But the Bulls still have some motivation to sour the crowd at Madison Square Garden the way they once did with Jordan. Chicago has lost 16 straight road games since opening the season with a road win at Boston.

Chicago tries to complete a home-and-home sweep of the Knicks when it travels to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.

Chicago knocked off New York 101-94 on Monday night in a game that was not quite as close as the score would indicate. The Bulls had a 20-point lead with just over three minutes remaining before the Knicks went on a late surge. New York went on a 20-7 run over the final 2:47 of the contest, fueled by four treys.

The Bulls' lead was cut to five points twice in the final minute of the game. Both times, a Chicago player was fouled and sent to the foul line. First it was Jay Williams, whose foul-shooting woes both in college and the NBA have been well documented, and then it was Jamal Crawford. Both players hit 2-of-2 from the stripe, with Crawford's pair sealing the deal for Chicago.

Jalen Rose led the way for the Bulls with 28 points, but Chicago doomed the Knicks inside. The Bulls outscored New York 46-24 in the paint. Tyson Chandler grabbed 19 rebounds and added eight points.

Chicago was also given a tremendous boost off the pine. The Bulls' reserves outscored their Knick counterparts 43-22.

"Anytime you get a 20-point lead, you should be able to cruise until the end," said Rose. "We didn't close it out the way we are capable."

On Monday, Chicago did a great job of getting to foul line. The Bulls converted 27-of-38 attempts, while the Knicks managed just 11-of-13.

The bad news for Chicago is that it is a different team on the road.

Allan Houston led New York with 25 points and Kurt Thomas added 19. Latrell Sprewell added 17 points to the losing effort, eight of which came in the final quarter.

"We're not the type of team who can come in and try to go through the motions and then win at the end," Houston said. "That's what we tried to do tonight."

New York has now lost two straight and five of its last six games. The Knicks are 9-11 at home and 9-18 within the Eastern Conference.

"We never got into guys until the game was over," New York coach Don Chaney said. "I told our guys before the game we're not talking about splitting the two. We got to win both games. I thought maybe we'd step up for this one. [The Bulls] are big and talented, but they are young. We have a lot of veterans on this team. We should've been able to exploit their youth."

The teams will meet again on March 22 at United Center.

MCDYESS GETTING ANTSY

Antonio McDyess may in fact return to action before the end of the season, according to a report in the New York Post.

McDyess is aggressively rehabbing the knee with weights.

"I would personally love to have him back - I really would - for the team's sake and for his sake," Chaney told the newspaper. "But at the same time, there could be a dark moment if he comes back too early and gets hurt again and for next year he's starting off on the injured list. It's a hard a call."

Chaney knows McDyess' presence would have made a huge difference this season.

"I think about it all the time. I'm not one to dwell, but I'm human," Chaney admitted. "You have to think about it sometimes. But you have to go with what your deck presents. Right now he's not in our deck. I would love the luxury - not just offensively - but the guy defensively can guard just about anybody. I'm not making him out to be the ultimate superstar - but he is. He is to us. Potentially that guy is just great."