Guard Josh Giddey returns to watch Bulls get embarrassed in Big Apple

As far as Bulls guard Josh Giddey was concerned, it wasn’t a fluke.

When the Bulls opened the season 5-0, it wasn’t because they were playing bully against teams such as the Wizards and Nets. No, they had a season-opening victory against the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons and beat playoff-caliber teams such as the Magic, Hawks and Knicks.

There was something there in late October — months ago that feel like years, especially in the wake of an embarrassing 136-96 loss Friday to the Knicks.

‘‘I’ve said this before, but I really think we started off the season the right way,’’ Giddey said. ‘‘We were building momentum with the group we had, and then obviously at the deadline things changed.’’

Maybe. But things had changed before that, thanks to injuries, inconsistent defense and more mediocrity from a group that had toiled in mediocrity for too long. The front office had to make changes, which were long overdue.

With only five games left in the season, however, Giddey wasn’t done trying to search for something positive. As bad as the season has gone, there is still something worth salvaging, he said.

‘‘We blew up half our team, and we kind of went from building momentum with the guys we had to, like, a minicamp at midseason, trying to get guys acclimated to what we’re doing,’’ Giddey said. ‘‘So, yeah, it was challenging. It was challenging for everybody. It’s not like it was just me or one other guy. Everybody had to go through it. The front office makes the decisions they make, and it’s our job to play and go out there and win games. We haven’t done that nearly even close to a high-enough level.

‘‘But it’s about finishing the right way and doing the right things, staying with it. At the end of the day, it’s the NBA, and we don’t take that for granted. We need to finish this off the right way, regardless of playoffs or not.’’

The ‘‘right way’’ at this point would be the Bulls navigating the final stretch by using Giddey — and the other known pieces — in games in which there is an obvious talent disadvantage and allow him to rest his hamstring against fellow tankers such as the Wizards and Mavericks.

Giddey missed the Bulls’ game Wednesday against the Pacers but was back at it Friday against the Knicks. It wasn’t exactly an ideal matchup to come back for.

Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson scored the first basket of the game 45 seconds in, and who would have guessed that would have been enough to keep them in front until midway through the first quarter?

A free throw by Matas Buzelis was all the Bulls could muster until Collin Sexton made a three-pointer with 5:25 left in the first. By that point, the damage had been done, and Giddey and the Bulls were down 20-4.

By the end of the second quarter, the Knicks had the largest halftime lead in franchise history. They led by 37 points and got very little resistance. They had made 30 of 51 shots (.59%) from the field and had outrebounded the Bulls 31-18.

How bad was it for Giddey and his teammates? They had more turnovers than field goals midway through the second quarter and finished the half with 14 field goals to 11 turnovers. The Knicks, meanwhile, only turned the ball over twice.

By the end, Sexton led the Bulls with 19 points. Giddey, meanwhile, shot 3-for-12 from the field and committed four turnovers.

While there was no defense for that kind of showing, the Bulls are under a darker cloud than Giddey would admit. Coach Billy Donovan might walk away at the end of the season, and the front office is in limbo.

And while Giddey was trying to stay optimistic, the inevitable appears to be coming.