The heady days of “Linsanity” are fading further from New York fans' memories after the Knicks slumped to their sixth straight defeat with a 104-99 loss to the NBA-best Chicago Bulls Monday. Jeremy Lin, whose meteoric rise from unknown benchwarmer to NBA sensation set the Knicks alight last month, scored 15 points and had eight assists but his impact on the team continues to dwindle as New York fell into a tie with Milwaukee for eighth in the Eastern Conference. Derrick Rose attacked Lin and the Knicks relentlessly for 32 points and seven assists while the Bulls (35-9) abused New York in the rebounding battle to keep control. “The whole game they had us on the offensive glass,” Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters. “We played well for long stretches but the second-chance points got us.” New York stayed in touch for three quarters and trailed by one point heading into the fourth, but they were overmatched in the crucial closing stages. Celtics 94, Clippers 85: Paul Pierce scored 25 points and made some clutch shots down the stretch, helping the Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Clippers. Kevin Garnett added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who bounced back from a 97-94 loss to the Lakers Sunday. Ray Allen tallied 15 points and Rajon Rondo donated 12 points and 10 assists. Blake Griffin ended with 24 points and nine boards for the Clippers, who have lost two in a row and four of five. Mo Williams and Chris Paul had 21 and 14 points, respectively. Milwaukee 105, New Jersey 99: Brandon Jennings scored 18 of his 34 points in the second half and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New Jersey Nets for the 10th straight time. Drew Gooden had 15 of his 23 points after halftime, with Milwaukee able to overcome a slow start to remain undefeated against New Jersey for more than three years. Charlotte 73, New Orleans 71: Bismack Biyombo blocked Trevor Ariza's dunk in the final seconds and the Charlotte Bobcats held on for their sixth win of the season, over the New Orleans Hornets in a game between the worst teams in both conferences. Ariza got free on the right side after an inbounds pass with 5.2 seconds left and drove hard to the basket, but Biyombo was there to reject his dunk. The Bobcats, with the worst record in the NBA at 6-34, snapped a three-game losing streak. San Antonio 112, Washington 97: Tony Parker had 31 points and seven assists in his return to the lineup, helping the San Antonio Spurs continue their recent dominance over the Washington Wizards. The Spurs have now won 12 in a row over the Wizards, who have lost 12 straight in the Alamo City. Tim Duncan added 14 points to surpass Clyde Drexler (22,195) into 25th place on the NBA's all-time career-scoring list. Duncan, who also pulled down nine rebounds, now has 22,207 career-points. Utah 105, Detroit 90: Al Jefferson scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and sparked a late run that gave the Jazz the victory over the Pistons. Minnesota 127, Phoenix 124: Kevin Love scored 23 of his 30 points in the second half, leading the Timberwolves past the Suns in a back-and-forth shootout. Minnesota started its seven-game road trip by ending a nine-game losing streak to Phoenix.
