NEW YORK (AP) _ Glen Rice scored 20 points and shot 16-for-16 from the free-throw line in his first preseason game with his new team Tuesday night as the New York Knicks defeated the Chicago Bulls 96-91.

Rice, who shot just 2-for-9 from the field, is expected to come off the bench in the regular season. He started against Chicago, however, as Allan Houston sat out with a sprained left ankle.

``I was telling everybody how nervous I was, but it's going to be smooth sailing from here on in,'' Rice said. ``I had jittery hands and my legs were shaking, so I couldn't get the proper lift on my shot. I was so eager to do things so perfectly, and it didn't always go that way.''

The Knicks trailed for the entire first half and most of the third quarter, then took the lead for good midway through the fourth with an 8-0 run. Travis Knight, acquired with Rice in the Patrick Ewing trade, had four points in the run including a bank shot from 15 feet for an 86-80 lead.

Knight shot 3-for-6 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Two of his baskets came on bank shots from the outside.

``I learned that at training camp this year,'' Knight said. ``Shot about 6,000 of them.''

With the Knicks leading 94-91 with nine seconds left, Chris Childs missed two free throws. Rookie Pete Mickeal grabbed an offensive rebound for New York, and Rice clinched the victory by making two free throws with 2.5 seconds left.

Latrell Sprewell led the Knicks with 21 points.

Ron Mercer had 17 points for Chicago, while Ron Artest and Elton Brand added 15 each.

The crowd was listed as 18,412, but there were actually fewer people in the building as many fans opted to watch the Mariners-Yankees playoff game.