The words came out of Kirk Hinrich’s mouth almost matter-of-factly, words that no member of the Bulls would have dared utter for years.

“We’re a good team,” Hinrich said, and there was no disputing him after the Bulls ran their winning streak to seven games yesterday with an 88-86 win over the reeling Knicks.

Ben Gordon scored on a driving 8-footer with one-tenth of a second remaining for the game-winning points, a basket that prompted coach Scott Skiles to leap into the arms of Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.

And after the Knicks botched their last attempt and the final buzzer sounded, the smiles adorning the Bulls were a stark contrast to the long-faced frowns draping the Knicks.

A good team, it was pointed out, is something the Bulls have been the antithesis of since Michael Jordan left in 1998 and the franchise sank into an extended period of rebuilding.

Nobody would have dared call the Bulls good in late November, either, after they opened the season 0-9, but the seven straight victories have left Chicago just one game below .500.

“We’re no. 1 in the league in defensive field goal percentage, and that’s a sign of a good team,” Hinrich said.

Seven straight wins represents the longest winning streak for Chicago since the 1997-98 team won 13 in a row. A member of that team, Scottie Pippen, was in the front row at Madison Square Garden to get a firsthand look at this edition of the Bulls.

Luol Deng led Chicago with 19 points, Hinrich had 14 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Andres Nocioni came off the bench to add 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Stephon Marbury had 25 points to lead the Knicks, who lost for the seventh time in eight games and relinquished sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

Chicago scored the final seven points of the game and held the Knicks without a field goal over the final 3 1/2 minutes. The Bulls outrebounded the Knicks 56-38, with four players grabbing at least 10.

The Bulls trailed for most of the fourth quarter, but Nocioni’s 3-pointer with 56 seconds left tied it 86-86. Kurt Thomas missed a jumper for the Knicks, and Nocioni rebounded Gordon’s missed shot at the other end to give the Bulls one last possession with 16.1 seconds remaining.

Gordon, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, went around a screen to free himself of Jamal Crawford, then took two more steps into the lane and launched his game-winner over the outstretched arm of Michael Sweetney.

The Knicks activated Crawford, who had missed 10 games with a toe injury, from the injured list before the game.