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Gasol, Gibson lead Bulls to opening night blowout of Knicks

Adam Hunger / USA Today Sports

New York, NY - Taj Gibson poured in 22 points in 28 minutes off the bench as the Chicago Bulls tipped off a season of high expectations with an emphatic 104-80 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Getting Derrick Rose back from another devastating knee injury and adding savvy veteran Pau Gasol in free agency has the Bulls stamped as one of the major threats in the Eastern Conference. They did nothing to temper the hype on opening night, shooting nearly 51 percent from the field while stifling New York's offense all evening long.

Both Gasol and Rose made notable contributions to the rout, with the former putting up 21 points and 11 rebounds and the 2010-11 NBA MVP scoring 13 points with five assists in his regular-season return to the court.

The Knicks, meanwhile, put up a dud in the head coaching debut of Phil Jackson disciple Derek Fisher. Carmelo Anthony was held to a modest 14 points on 5- of-13 accuracy and the team finished a poor 3-for-17 from 3-point range.

Amar'e Stoudemire was New York's lone other player to score in double figures, managing 12 points along with eight rebounds.

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