GLENDALE—Martin Hanzal scored 9:29 into overtime and the Phoenix Coyotes opened the playoffs with a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Thursday night.Despite losing leading goal scorer Radim Vrbata to an injury early, Phoenix had a 2-1 lead after Taylor Pyatt and Antoine Vermette scored in the second period. Coyotes goalie Mike Smith stopped two shots without his stick during a power play in the third period, but Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook put a rebound past him with 14.2 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.Hanzal barely nicked Adrian Aucoin’s shot on a redirect in overtime to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 2 is Saturday night in Arizona. Jonathan Toews also scored in his first game back from a concussion.Smith stopped 43 shots for the Coyotes.Phoenix reached the apex of its run in the desert this season, earning its first division title in 33 years as an NHL franchise.Without an owner for the third straight season and no true star players, the Coyotes got by on grit and great goaltending from Smith, winning their final five games to take the Pacific Division crown. A nice accomplishment, though the carrot for the players was the home-ice advantage that came with it.For a team that hadn’t won a playoff series since 1987 — nine years before they moved from Winnipeg to Arizona — they were happy for any advantage they could get.They were going to need it against the Blackhawks,who are fast, skilled and experienced, two years removed from winning the Stanley Cup. They finished with two more wins and four more points than the Coyotes, who earned home ice by winning their division.The Hawks also has two of best lines in hockey and the top one got a big boost for Game 1 with the return of Toews. The Blackhawks’ captain missed the final 22 games of the regular season with a concussion and just returned to practice on Monday.He didn’t take long to let the Coyotes know he was feeling good, squeezing a shot past Smith from a tough angle just over 4 minutes into the game – just what the Coyotes didn’t want to happen with the fast-moving Blackhawks.The Coyotes fought back and players from both teams had to be separated in the closing seconds after Hanzal and Bryan Bickell were called for roughing penalties.Phoenix kept up the feistiness to open the second period and broke through 7 1/2 minutes in, when Pyatt lifted a shot past Corey Crawford after a nifty backhand feed by Daymond Langkow. The Coyotes set up the goal by wearing the Blackhawks down, repeatedly keeping the puck in the zone to create an exceptionally long shift. Vermette put Phoenix up 2-1 late in the period, one-timing a pass from Raffi Torres so hard that it bounced out of the net and Crawford wasn’t sure if it went in.The Coyotes were 33-1 when leading after two periods during the regular season, but Seabrook broke through in the closing seconds when a shot by Toews hit the right post and slipped across the crease right to his stick. Smith didn’t know where the puck was and Seabrook flipped it in to force overtime after Crawford had left the ice for an extra attacker.

NOTES—The Coyotes and Blackhawks are meeting for the first time in the playoffs. … Phoenix has killed off 29 straight penalties, dating to the regular season. … Toews’ goal was his 16th career in the playoffs. … Patrick Kane had an assist on Toews’ goal for his 49th career playoff point, moving him into 15th in Blackhawks history.

Matt Garza felt a little off during his first two innings on Thursday.After a few quick adjustments on the advice of Ryan Dempster, he was close to unhittable.Garza pitched three-hit ball for 8 2/3 innings, and the Cubs sent Zack Greinke to his worst beating in 1½ years in an 8-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday that prevented a four-game sweep.Helping the Cubs improve to 2-5, Garza (1-0) struck out nine and walked two — both in the first two innings. He induced Cesar Izturis to hit into an inning-ending double play in the second, starting a stretch in which he retired 16 of 17 batters.Nori Aoki reached with two outs in the ninth when Garza threw his comebacker over first baseman Bryan LaHair and into the stands for a two-base error. Garza was removed after 119 pitches and Shawn Camp needed just four pitches to end it, retiring pinch-hitter George Kottaras on a game-ending groundout.It would have been Garza’s first shutout since July 26, 2010, when he pitched a no-hitter for Tampa Bay against Detroit.Greinke (1-1) allowed eight earned runs for the first time since Minnesota beat him — coincidentally the same day Garza threw his no-hitter.Greinke gave up nine hits and needed 84 pitches to get through 3 2-/ innings, a sharp contrast to his seven shutout innings against St. Louis last weekend in his season debut.Greinke retired his first six batters, then allowed seven of the first eight batters to reach in a six-run third.Reed Johnson, Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro hit RBI singles, Alfonso Soriano drove in two runs with a broken-bat flare to right field and Ian Stewart beat the infield shift with a run-scoring, opposite-field single to left-center.The Cubs tacked on two runs in the fourth on David DeJesus’ run-scoring infield single and an RBI single by Castro. The Cubs had not scored more than five runs in a game coming in.

“A lot of good approaches,” Dale Sveum said. “Got a lot of good pitches, made Greinke get the ball up, and we took advantage of all the mistakes he made.”

Steve Clevenger had three hits, including leadoff doubles in the third and fourth innings. The rookie backup catcher already had earned Sveum’s praise by going 2 for 2 in pinch-hit situations.

NOTES—Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez was given the day off….The Cubs open their first trip of the season Friday at St. Louis. Jeff Samardzija (1-0) will face Adam Wainwright (0-1) and the Cardinals….The Brewers head to Atlanta, where Randy Wolf (0-1) starts against Jair Jurrjens (0-1).

CLEVELAND—A.J. Pierzynski hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to lead the White Sox over the Cleveland Indians 10-6 on Wednesday.The Sox scored four runs in the first off Justin Masterson (0-1), but Cleveland closed to 5-4 in the fifth against John Danks (1-1) on Travis Hafner’s two-run double. Then in the sixth, Alejandro De Aza hit a two-run homer off Dan Wheeler and Pierzynski drove a pitch from Rafael Perez into the right-field seats for a 10-4 lead.Pierzynski said the way the Indians kept coming back, he had the same feeling.

“It never seemed like we had enough,” Pierzynski said.

The left-handed hitter wasn’t in his comfort zone when he came to bat against Perez, having just two singles in his first 12 career at-bats against the lefty. Then his luck changed.

“He hung a slider,” Pierzynski said. “I’ve been facing him for years and he always makes good pitches, a good slider, good slider, good slider. Finally, he missed with one and I made contact.”

Following a 3-2 opening trip, the White Sox headed home after the game for their home opener against Detroit on Friday. Hafner had a long solo homer and three RBI and Shelley Duncan hit a two-run homer for Cleveland, which went 1-4 on its opening homestand. The Indians were 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position, dropping to 5 for 32 (.156) this season.Danks gave up four runs, seven hits and five walks in 5 2/3 innings. Masterson allowed five runs — three earned — and eight hits in five innings.

“I didn’t help the cause by walking five,” Danks said. “It was cold, tough conditions. Everything was in and out. My changeup was good and then it went away. I got the win, that’s all that matters.”

A year ago, Danks was 0-8 in his first 11 starts. He finished 8-12.Paul Konerko had an RBI double in the first and Adam Dunn a run-scoring single. In an inning prolonged by third baseman Jack Hannahan’s throwing error, Masterson threw a run-scoring wild pitch and Pierzynski hit a sacrifice fly.Asdrubal Cabrera reached in the bottom half when his routine pop to right-center fell safely among three fielders for a double, then scored on a wild pitch. Hafner hit a 433-foot solo homer into the right-field second deck in the fourth, his first home run of the season.Konerko singled in a run in the fifth for a 5-2 lead after an error by first baseman Casey Kotchman.

NOTES—The first-pitch temperature was 45, with gusting winds. A light drizzle fell in the early innings. … Jeanmar Gomez, the Indians’ fifth starter who was skipped over in the rotation when Tuesday night’s game was postponed, made his season debut by pitching two perfect innings of relief, striking out three. … Kotchman dropped a low throw from SS Cabrera, only his 12th error in 730 games at first base. … Konerko passed Hall of Famer Luke Appling for second place in White Sox history with 3,531 total bases. Frank Thomas leads with 3,949. … Cleveland has eight homers by seven players in five games. … The Indians go to Kansas City on Friday to start their first trip of the season, which includes stops at Seattle and Oakland. … The White Sox have limited standing room tickets remaining for their home opener Friday against Detroit.

George Kottaras had the type of afternoon backups dream about.Kottaras hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Yovani Gallardo outdueled Ryan Dempster as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cubs 2-1 Wednesday for their third straight win in the four-game series.Backed by Starlin Castro’s first-inning sacrifice fly that followed David DeJesus’ double, Dempster (0-1) had a three-hit shutout before Mat Gamel doubled leading off the seventh. Kottaras followed with his second homer this season.Milwaukee gave Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and regular catcher Jonathan Lucroy the day off.Gallardo (1-1) didn’t need much offense. He allowed five hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked two, getting 11 ground-ball outs.It was a welcomed rebound from an opening-day start in which the 26-year-old right-hander allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings against World Series champion St. Louis.

“I was a little more aggressive with the fastball down in the strike zone, moving it around in and out,” Gallardo said. “The slider was the best slider I’ve had in a while. I was able to command it and get ground balls whenever I needed them.”

Gallardo allowed singles by Ian Stewart and Bryan LaHair starting the seventh, but struck out Geovany Soto and Marlon Byrd and inducing an inning-ending groundout from pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt.

“Yovani got better as the game went on,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “I thought his last inning was his best inning with his fastball. He had good rhythm all game.”

Francisco Rodriguez worked around a pair of walks in the eighth, and John Axford pitched a one-hit ninth for his second save, dropping the last-place Cubs to a 1-5 start.Dempster, who fell to 15-6 against Milwaukee, allowed two runs, five hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.

“Gallardo did a good job of pitching today,” Dempster said. “I knew today it was going to be tough to win a game. I’m kind of upset with myself because we have a chance to win that game if I don’t give up that home run.”

Making his first big league start, Brewers leadoff hitter Norichika Aoki reached on a single and a walk, seeing 29 pitches over four plate appearances. Aoki was a three-time batting champion and six-time Gold Glove winner during seven seasons with Yakult in Japan’s Central League.

NOTES—Roenicke said Braun and Lucroy had rib tightness that they could have played through…..Dempster struck out Kottaras in the fifth inning to become the 12th pitcher to strike out 1,000 for the Cubs….Kerry Wood struck out the side in the eighth after two outing in which he combined to allow three earned run and three walks in one innings…..Matt Garza looks for his first win of the season in Thursday’s series finale against Zack Greinke, who threw seven shutout innings vs. St. Louis in his season debut. Garza was 2-1 with a 4.35 ERA against Milwaukee last year.

The Bulls thought they were finally getting their whole team back together for the final stretch.Instead, Derrick Rose was out again. The Bulls came out on top, anyway.Richard Hamilton scored 20 points, Luol Deng added 19 and the Bulls beat the New York Knicks 98-86 Tuesday night even though they were playing without their superstar point guard again. Hamilton had 18 points in the third quarter to help stay ahead after building a 12-point halftime lead. Kyle Korver added 14 points and three blocks, and the Bulls prevailed despite Carmelo Anthony’s 29 points for New York.With their star sidelined again, this was a good time for Hamilton to step up.Rose’s latest injury is a sprained right ankle, which he suffered in Sunday’s overtime loss at New York. He lobbied to play after warming up before Tuesday’s game, but the Bulls improved to 16-7 without him.

“I just think it was the smart thing to do in this situation,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “If we’re going to err, we’re going to err on the side of caution. He wanted to play and we felt it was best that he didn’t.”

The league’s reigning MVP, Rose was injured in the first half Sunday after returning from a 12-game absence because of a groin problem.Rose wound up scoring 29 in that game, but shot only 8 of 26 and missed potential winning shots at the end of regulation and OT, as well as two free throws with the Bulls up by three with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He’s missed 23 games because of a variety of ailments, including a turf toe injury and back spasms. Still, the Bulls managed to get back to winning after dropping three of four, beating a team they might meet in the first round of the playoffs.They also moved three games ahead of Miami for the Eastern Conference lead, with the Heat visiting on Thursday and are trying to capture the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight year. “If nothing else, if there’s a Game 7, you want to play at home,” Korver said. “We know that. But Thibs preaches every day, `One game at a time, one game at a time.’ We’re a brainwashed bunch.” Anthony came up big again for the Knicks after scoring a season-high 43 and hitting the go-ahead 3 in overtime on Sunday, but New York got pounded on the boards 51-33. The Bulls outscored the Knicks 25-5 on second-chance points and cut down on the turnovers, finishing with 12 after committing 20 in the previous game.

“We got outrebounded,” Anthony said. “They beat us on the boards. I got two rebounds. I’ve got to do better than that.”

Then again, as Tyson Chandler said, Anthony was the “one bright spot” for New York. Chandler did have 15 rebounds, but otherwise, it was a mismatch on the glass.

“That’s kind of their game,” he said. “They attack the basket. They get you out of position and then the big guys come and crash the boards. We didn’t do a good job of boxing out.”

Deng had 10 rebounds and hit 3 of 6 3-pointers while trying to contain Anthony. Korver was 3 of 5 from long range and had 11 points in the fourth quarter.Hamilton played just 20 minutes because he’s missed most of the season because of injuries, but he was his usual active self, running off screens and wearing out the opposition. He certainly made the most of his time, particularly in the third.The Knicks got to 53-50 early in the quarter, but Hamilton answered with a 20-footer and two free throws. Deng then made a 3 to make it a 10-point game, and the Bulls stayed in control after that.

NOTES—The Knicks sent C Jerome Jordan to Erie of the NBA Development League to get more playing time. A rookie, he’s averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 19 appearances…..The Bulls took three of four from New York and won the season series for the fourth time in five years.

Chris Narveson knew he would be battling the elements on a blustery night at Wrigley Field, and coming up to bat before he even took the mound really helped put him at ease.Alex Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in Milwaukee’s five-run first inning, sending the Brewers to a 7-4 victory over the Cubs on Tuesday night. The Brewers had no problem adjusting to the weather on the chilly 40-degree evening. They sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning against Paul Maholm (0-1).Narveson (1-0) pitched five innings to improve to 7-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 14 career games against the Cubs. The left-hander allowed three runs, two earned, and six hits.He ran into some trouble as the Cubs scored three times in the third to cut the lead to 6-3. Alfonso Soriano had a two-run single and Jeff Baker added a sacrifice fly. The Cubs had a chance for more but a strategic infield shift ended the threat when second baseman Rickie Weeks made a diving stop to rob Geovany Soto of a hit right behind the second base bag.

“It was a huge play,” Narveson said. “The shift has always been a big help for us. I remember the first time facing Soto last year when he hit a ball up the middle, Rickie was standing right there, so I kind of remembered that.”

Marco Estrada and Kameron Loe combined for three scoreless innings after Narveson left. Jose Veras came in to pitch the ninth, but Geovany Soto hit a leadoff homer and Bryan LaHair walked with one out, leading Brewers manager Ron Roenicke to go to his bullpen again.Francisco Rodriguez then struck out David DeJesus and got Darwin Barney to ground out for his first save of the season.Maholm’s outing ended after four innings. He allowed six runs and six hits.Cub starters allowed seven earned runs in the first four games.

“I don’t know if it was my first game and I just tried to different things, but I didn’t establish my sinker,” Maholm said. “I didn’t do what I normally do.”

Weeks led off the game with a walk and moved to third on Carlos Gomez’s double. Ryan Braun then hit a sacrifice fly, putting Milwaukee in front and moving the speedy Gomez to third.Aramis Ramirez followed with a bouncer to first baseman Jeff Baker, who was playing near the infield grass and decided to throw home. Gomez was running on contact and scored to make it 2-0.After Maholm hit Corey Hart, Gonzalez hit a drive to left for his first homer of the season.

“(The first inning) was pretty good. If that wind’s not blowing in, it could have been really good. Braun absolutely killed that ball,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “But that’s Wrigley Field.”

Jonathan Lucroy hit a solo drive off Maholm in the third for his first homer and had an RBI single in the seventh.

“I thought the wind was blowing in,” Maholm joked. “Honestly the pitches they hit out were brutal.

Maholm is 1-9 in his last 17 starts against the Brewers. The Pirates declined an option on Maholm, who went 6-14 with a 3.66 ERA in 2011, but 0-5 with a 5.75 ERA over his final seven outings. He agreed to a one-year, $4.25 million contract with the Cubs in January.

NOTES—Ramirez stole second in the first inning. He had one stolen base for the Cubs in 2011. … Brewers RF Corey Hart is expected to rest on Wednesday. He had right knee surgery in March.

Guillen has since apologized via a group of reporters in the locker room.

“I will apologize if I hurt somebody’s feelings, or I hurt somebody’s thought,” Guillen said. “I want them to know I’m against everything 100 percent — I repeat it again — the way this man [been] treating people for the last 60 years.”

Guillen was in Miami Tuesday morning for a press conference. He apologized profusely, noting that was he embarrassed on several occasions.

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig released the following statement on the Marlins’ decision to suspend Guillen.

“Major League Baseball supports today’s decision by the Marlins to suspend Ozzie Guillen. As I have often said, Baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities. All of our 30 Clubs play significant roles within their local communities, and I expect those who represent Major League Baseball to act with the kind of respect and sensitivity that the game’s many cultures deserve. Mr. Guillen’s remarks, which were offensive to an important part of the Miami community and others throughout the world, have no place in our game.”

Parts of Guillen’s News Conference:

“I’m here to say I’m sorry with my heart in my hands. And I want to say I’m sorry to all those people that I hurt indirectly or directly.”

“All I’m saying right now is from the bottom of my heart. I’m not here to get out of this. It’s to clarify, and we will clarify. Especially to the Cuban-Americans in Miami. And what I was saying in Cincinnati and Philadelphia was actually the truth.” [Note: He discussed his apologies for the Castro comments]

“I’m embarrassed.”

“I wanna be sure that our friendship has been betrayed [by me]. The last few days have been difficult for me and my family. It’s been really hard for us.”

“Again, I’d like to apologize again. I’m sorry for what I said and for putting people in a position they don’t need to be.”

“And for all the Cuban families, I’m sorry. My love. And I hope that when I get out of here people will understand who Ozzie Guillen is, how I feel for them and how I feel about the Fidel Castro dictatorship.”

“I’m here to face you person-to-person. It’s going to be a difficult time for me and I’m here to answer any questions you have. I’m here on my knees apologizing to all the Latin American communities.”

“And the people that know me, they know exactly how I behave. I don’t want this to heal, I just want to make it better. And I just want to say the truth.”

Guillen then opened up the floor for questions.

The questioning was hard to follow, because there was a mix of English and Spanish and Guillen attempted to slow things down, saying that getting things lost in translation is how he got in trouble in the first place. He expressed that he’s learning more and more about Castro now, including all the reasons the Cuban-Americans have expressed dissatisfaction with his comments.

Guillen also noted he’s not going to be paid during the suspension, but that’s not a big deal to him.

“Money to me right now is nothing. To fix my problem with the community is more important to me than money.”

He continued to stress that he’s embarrassed, very sorry and willing to do whatever it takes to make the situation better. He also said the people protesting have every right to protest.

As for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Guillen said he would vote for any other competitor in an election.

Also, Guillen said that he did not feel pressure to resign his position, despite some cries for him to do so.

One final item of note: Guillen said he’d gone through three days without sleep.

ARLINGTON—Matt Harrison had barely settled on the bench after getting out of a jam to complete six scoreless innings for the Texas Rangers when Josh Hamilton quickly got the left-hander back on his feet.Hamilton’s first homer of the season was a 441-foot blast that landed in the second deck of seats high above the Rangers bullpen in right-center field, and the most impressive of three homers Texas hit in a 5-0 victory over the White Sox on Sunday night.

“It’s amazing, no matter how many times you see it,” Harrison said. “You keep waiting for him to hit one out of the stadium. He has unbelievable power, and he plays great defense.”

Along with several teammates, Harrison jumped up and watched in awe when Hamilton led off the sixth inning against Gavin Floyd (0-1). The ball that kept rising and landed several rows deep.Hamilton, who was 2 for 4 and scored twice, also had a pair of nifty inning-ending defensive plays.Adrian Beltre and David Murphy also homered for the Rangers, who took two of three in the opening weekend series against the Sox playing their first games under new manager Robin Ventura. Harrison (1-0), a 14-game winner last season who had a 1.69 ERA in four Cactus League starts this spring, struck out three and walked two while giving up four hits in six innings.Mark Lowe, Robbie Ross and Koji Uehara each worked a scoreless inning of relief. With two runners in the top of the sixth, Harrison struck out A.J. Pierzynski just before Hamilton’s blast.

“It wasn’t a night for the ball to really jump,” Hamilton insisted. “I knew it was probably gone when I hit it, but I didn’t realize or didn’t know where it landed until I saw the replay.”

After Murphy pulled a ball into that second deck in the third, closer to the line for a 396-foot shot and a 1-0 lead, Harrison gave up a leadoff double to Gordon Beckham in the top of the fourth.But with one out, Harrison reacted to Paul Konerko’s comebacker by reaching down between his legs to grab the ball and then catch Beckham off third base.

“The biggest key in the game,” Harrison said. “I kind of stuck my glove down there and the ball went in it.”

In the bottom of that inning, Hamilton had a leadoff single before Beltre’s two-run shot landed in the Rangers bullpen for a 3-0 lead. Hamilton made a diving catch in the left-center gap on a slicing flyball hit by Alejandro De Aza in the seventh. He ended the second when he reached out on the run to stab a liner by Pierzynski in the right-center gap before tumbling to the ground. Floyd, 0-3 in his final five starts last season, struck out three and walked two. He allowed only one earned run over 14 innings in two games last year against the Rangers, who this time got five runs (four earned) in 5 2-3 innings against the right-hander.

“Harrison pitched great. It’s one of those nights where you just tip your hat to him,” Ventura said. “He pitched great and they maximized everything they got off of Gavin. Five runs on six hits, they have that kind of power and you just go on to play another day.”

The White Sox have three games in Cleveland before their home opener Friday against Detroit.Texas opens a four-game series at home Monday night against AL West rival Seattle, with 25-year-old Yu Darvish making his much-anticipated major league debut. The right-hander, who signed a five-year deal with the Rangers this winter, was 93-38 with a 1.99 ERA in 167 games the past seven seasons in Japan’s Pacific League.

NOTES—Harrison threw 25 of 30 pitches the first two innings for strikes. That included 11 pitches to Pierzynski….Two relievers made their major league debuts, Nate Jones for the Sox and Ross. Both walked their first batter. Jones, like Ross, worked a scoreless inning…..Chris Sale will make his first major league start Monday for the White Sox. His first 79 appearances were as a reliever…..Mike Napoli will catch Darvish’s first start. Manager Ron Washington doesn’t plan to have a designated catcher for Darvish, who hasn’t indicated he wants or needs a specific catcher. Yorvit Torrealba caught Harrison on Sunday night.

NEW YORK—Carmelo Anthony called it a statement game, and the message should be clear for the Bulls.But what the sometime crybaby Anthony did not say was that the Knicks were very lucky that they were even in the game after blowing a 21 point lead,and that Luol Den and Derrick Rose both blew a pair of free throws in the final second that could have put the game away. If they do meet in the playoffs, the Bulls better finish off Anthony and the Knicks when they have the chance.Anthony scored 43 points, his most since coming to New York last February, and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds left in overtime as the Knicks spoiled the return to the lineup for a rusty Rose and beat the Bulls 100-99 on Sunday.Anthony tied it with a 3 late in regulation and scored the final five points of overtime in his signature performance since coming to New York last February. He only had the chance to pull it out because the Bulls missed four straight free throws in the final 34 seconds of regulation.

“This was a playoff game. We have a chance, we might play these guys in the playoffs if we keep doing what we’re doing and get that seed, so this was a big statement game for us and we willed this one tonight,” Anthony said.And very lucky!

It had the look and sound of a playoff game in the tense final minutes at a frenzied Madison Square Garden. The loudest roars went to Anthony, who screamed “This is my house!” after the second 3-pointer in a place where he heard boos just last month.The Bulls trailed by 21 in the first quarter, fought back to lead by 10 in the fourth, then lost for the third time in four games despite having their starting five together for only the 11th time this season. Their NBA-best record fell to 43-14.Rose scored 29 points after missing the previous 12 games with a strained right groin, but he shot only 8 of 26 from the field and missed a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left in regulation and the Bulls ahead by three.

“It’s tough. It was definitely tough,” Rose said. “When you lose a game, especially for us, it’s tough. It’s going to hurt us no matter who we lose to, but that team played great, man. They were knocking down shots. Didn’t give up when we went up that big lead. They kept fighting.”

The Knicks increased their lead over Milwaukee to one game for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They travel to Chicago on Tuesday, visit Milwaukee on Wednesday, and close a difficult week by hosting Miami next Sunday.

“I was proud of my teammates the way we stuck in there,” center Tyson Chandler said. “That’s a great team that we faced today. We knew they would battle back. You know, a lot of ups and downs in the game, but the one thing we did was keep our composure, kept believing in each other and we were able to will through to win.”

Iman Shumpert scored 15 points and JR Smith had 14 despite 6-of-22 shooting for the Knicks, still without the injured Amar’e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin but with a sensational effort from Anthony, who made 16 of 31 shots. Chandler grabbed 16 rebounds.Carlos Boozer had 13 points and 16 boards for the Bulls, who fell to 9-2 with their regular starting five. Rose committed eight of his team’s 20 turnovers.Rose had only seven points on 1-of-6 shooting in the first half, then scored 14 in the third quarter. After trailing the entire game, Chicago finally took its first lead in the final minute of the period, later going ahead 89-80 on Rose’s four-point play with 5:04 remaining in the fourth.The Knicks were down 10 before Smith made a 3-pointer — his fourth basket in 21 attempts — and Anthony scored four in a row to make it 91-88. Deng missed his two free throws with 34 seconds left, and after Steve Novak’s potential tying 3-point attempt went all around the rim before coming out, Rose missed a pair from the line with 19 seconds to go.Anthony rushed up the floor and pulled up for a long 3 that tied it at 91 with 11 seconds remaining, and it went to overtime when Rose missed everything on a jumper.The Bulls took a pair of four-point leads on baskets by Rose, but was shut out after his jumper with 2:51 remaining. Anthony gave the Knicks a 100-99 lead with 8.2 seconds remaining and the Bulls had trouble getting into their offense on the final possession, with Rose forced to shoot and miss a tough runner as time expired.The Bulls hadn’t had its regular five of Rose, Richard Hamilton, Boozer, Deng and Joakim Noah together since March 5 against Indiana. Hamilton left that game in the opening minutes with an injured right shoulder and only recently returned with his minutes closely monitored, and Rose was hurt a week later in a victory over the Knicks.Their lack of cohesion was obvious early. Thye Bulls missed 11 of its first 12 shots and perhaps let the struggles affect its usual rock-solid defense. The Knicks started 12 of 16 from the floor, building a 27-6 lead when Shumpert converted a three-point play with 3:30 remaining in the period.

“We should be able to overcome all of that stuff,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You just have to do the right things. We do the right things, you’re not going to have those problems. You’re not going to have those turnovers. Simple plays: Protect the ball, keep the ball moving, quick decisions, hit the first open man, sustain your spacing, protect the ball, tuck it on the catch, fight for your space, get your space. Simple.”

The Bulls trailed 53-45 even though Rose and Hamilton shot 2 of 11 and All-Star Deng was 3 of 10 while Anthony repeatedly beat him on his way to 22 points.

NOTES—Lin said before the game he was feeling good after surgery on his left knee Monday but didn’t think he could return in time for the first round of the playoffs…..The Knicks hired former Knicks forward Larry Johnson as a basketball and business operations representative on Sunday. Johnson, who played with the Knicks from 1996-01 and converted a memorable four-point play in the 1999 Eastern Conference finals against Indiana, will focus on player development and be involved in numerous business initiatives…..Jared Jeffries returned for the Knicks after missing eight games with a sore right knee.