Knicks Fall Apart vs. Bulls" Defense Jim Young/Reuters The Bulls" Joakim Noah, left, and Taj Gibson guarding Raymond Felton, who led the Knicks with 27 points but took 30 shots. CHICAGO - The pace was so slow, so tedious at times that the loudest noise inside United Center was often the bounce of the ball and the squeak of sneakers. Or it was the clang of the ball bouncing off the rim, which happened a lot in the Knicks" game Saturday against the Bulls. Coaches Mike Woodson of the Knicks and Tom Thibodeau of the Bulls frequently raised their arms in bewilderment. Sure, the Knicks and the Bulls played solid defense, but they were inefficient on offense. In the final seven minutes, the Bulls made the key shots, grabbed the important rebounds and made their free throws to secure a 93-85 victory. The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Knicks, who played their second straight game without Carmelo Anthony, who cut his left middle finger diving for a loose ball in the fourth quarter of their victory over Charlotte on Wednesday. The ugly game was not necessarily the way the Bulls wanted to play, but it was how they slowed down the Knicks and, more specifically, Raymond Felton. Felton, who led the Knicks with 27 points, needed 30 shots to do it. He made only nine of his attempts from the field as he struggled to make layups in traffic and could not get free from the Bulls" Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson. "They were just setting back in the paint," Felton said. They made sure I had to attack the big, and that's why I took so many shots tonight. Do I like to take 30 shots? I'm a point guard. But if I have to, I have to. The Knicks (14-5) never found a flow. The Bulls (11-8) are one of the best defensive teams in the league, and they defended against the Knicks" best offensive play, the pick-and-roll. As a result, the Knicks scored their fewest points in a game this season and registered their lowest shooting percentage (32). And after shooting 85 3-pointers in their previous two games, they attempted 23 against the Bulls and made just 8. "They forced us to make the point guard shoot the ball," said Steve Novak, who attempted three 3-pointers. They stayed home with the shooters and the guys on the weak side. It was a lot of the point guard and big man, and that's what they forced us into. They did a good job. Tyson Chandler, the other player in the Knicks" pick-and-roll, found himself in foul trouble because of his aggressiveness on the offensive end. "Tyson does a good job, but when he's in foul trouble, he's a different player," Novak said. Chicago's Marco Belinelli made the game's biggest shot, a 22-foot baseline jumper with less than two minutes left, to give the Bulls an 87-82 lead. Belinelli had 22 points and 3 steals for the Bulls, as did Luol Deng. "That was a big shot," Chandler said of Belinelli's jumper. He played big for them throughout the night. On their possession after Belinelli's basket, the Knicks passed the ball well enough to get a good look by Novak. But his 3-point attempt rattled in and out. The Bulls" Joakim Noah then put the game away with a sweeping layup with 56 seconds left. "I thought they made the hustle plays that they needed to make in order to win the game," Woodson said of the Bulls. We had enough to win with tonight. We had our chances. We just let this one get away. Carmelo Anthony said he hoped to return Sunday night at Madison Square Garden against the Denver Nuggets, the team that traded him to the Knicks in 2010. "You have to be smart," he said Saturday. I really trust my teammates and feel as though they will take care of business." ...Ronnie Brewer, who played for the Bulls the last two seasons, returned to United Center first the first time after the Bulls did not re-sign him in the off-season. In those two years, the Bulls had the best record in the league. "The city was great and the fans were great," Brewer said. My time here was great. I'm looking forward to playing here. Brewer was held scoreless and had two rebounds. ...Chicago's Taj Gibson received two technical fouls in the second quarter, prompting his ejection.