Tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks (2-2), the New York Knicks (2-2) closed the first half on a 33–18 run behind steady shooting, glass dominance, and excellent ball protection. They held a commanding 71–59 lead at the break. Smooth sailing? Not so fast. After intermission, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the charge as the Deer clobbered the visitors 35-20 in the third quarter. The Knicks’ offense, so pretty in the second quarter, was downright offensive in the second half. Limited to another 20 in the final
frame, our heroes fell, 121-11.
Giannis deserves his flowers. He finished with 37 points, eight boards, seven assists, two blocks, and a steal. Keeping him company on the scoresheet, Ryan Rollins posted a career-high 25 points, and Gary Trent, Jr. added 11.
For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson was electric with 36 points, making 14-of-25 shots. Mikal Bridges added 24 points, 10 boards, and six assists on 8-of-16. Landry Shamet contributed 16 points, making 4-of-9 from deep, and started with the Knicks short-handed. After that . . . not the highlights are few. OG Anunoby made just three shots for nine points. Karl-Anthony Towns had a particularly rough evening, finishing with 12 boards and eight points, and shooting 2-of-12 from the floor. Towns collected five fouls tonight, at least four of which felt like unforced errors, and he looked completely lost in the second half.
On the second unit, Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek combined for 15 points and 6-of-12 from the floor. Befitting of the Halloween season, Hukporti was a ghost. And Josh Hart as a -18, with three points, four boards and assists, and two steals in his 26 minutes.
Deuce McBride and Mitchell Robinson, hurry back soon.
First Half
Miles McBride, Guerschon Yabusele, and Mitchell Robinson sat out, so Coach Brown opened with a starting of lineup Jalen Brunson, Landry Shamet, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
After falling behind early, Brunson sparked a 15–2 run, while Towns and Bridges swatted back the Bucks. Giannis and Turner struggled to convert during that stretch, but in a flash, Giannis and Gary Trent, Jr. combined for eight points to even things out.
The rest of the quarter was tit for tat. Brunson carried the Knicks’ offense, while Bobby Portis, Ryan Rollins, and Kyle Kuzma all chipped in for the home team. New York owned the paint and protected the ball, but Milwaukee’s perimeter shooting and transition proved a worthy counter. Our heroes entered the break, up 27–26.
The Brew Crew opened the quarter with more from Portis and Rollins, aided by a couple of early Knicks turnovers. But rumors of New York’s were wildly exaggerated. Following a quick timeout, the ‘Bockers responded with better ball movement. Shamet and Bridges laced threes, KAT powered the interior, and Tyler Kolek dished two dimes and timely triple. After trailing by as many as ten, New York stormed back with a 16–4 run.
Jordan Clarkson provided a spark off the bench, with seven points in seven minutes.
Milwaukee stayed afloat thanks to Antetokounmpo’s rim work and a timely three from Myles Turner, but the Bucks struggled to generate momentum and committed costly turnovers. New York finished the half on a 33–18 run, thanks to pace, shot quality, and squeaky clean execution. New York scored 70 or more first-half points 10 times last season. Tonight, they collected 71 and limited the Bucks to 59.
Keys to success so far? Shooting 56% from the field, controlling the glass, and committing only three turnovers compared to eight for the Deer. Brunson topped the scoresheet with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and Bridges flirted with a double-double, posting 12 points and eight boards. Giannis scored 14 for the hosts, and Rollins posted 13 in 11 minutes.
Second Half
New York’s offense stalled after intermission, missing six of their first seven shots while Milwaukee surged back into the game. Giannis repeatedly punished the rim and Green caught fire from deep, erasing all our nice memories of the first half. Shamet briefly steadied things with a pair of threes, but the Bucks kept pressing and, with a 23–10 run, eventually claimed their first lead since early in the game.
Captain Clutch kept counter-punching. Jalen touched 30 points with three-ish minutes remaining. He checked out, Towns checked in—and promptly collected another silly foul. Meanwhile, Giannis treated the Fiserv faithful to his freight train impression, ramming 12 third-quarter points down the Knicks’ throat. Their frontcourt lacked the muscle to resist him, and Hukporti provided little support, getting a quick hook after just a few minutes. (Robinson and Yabusele were out, remember.) With three seconds left, KAT committed his fourth foul. Luckily, Clarkson swished an unconteseted bomb late in the quarter to keep it close. Bucks up, 94-91.
Sticking to his usual plan, Coach Brown kept Brunson out to start the fourth. An assortment of Kolek, Clarkson, Bridges, Hart, and Towns kept the pace long enough for Jalen to return at the eight-minute mark. Things were tilting back in our favor, with Bridge picking Kuzma’s pocket, scoring on a layup, and sinking a freebie. The lead was theirs again!
Egads. Brunson injured his groin and fell to the floor, allowing Giannis to scoop up the ball for a breakaway. After a timeout, Jalen returned but airballed from deep, suggesting his trunk wasn’t right. The great ball movement of the second quarter went missing the second half.
At four minutes, Towns got whistled for a charge, his fifth foul. The Bucks scored eight unanswered points to take a six-point lead. The gladiators went to work: Jalen scored on a difficult drive; Giannis scored on a 13-footer. New York’s offense buffered, and Rollins hit a bucket to tie his career-high.
A Gary Trent triple put the Bucks up by 10 with a minute left. Brunson and Giannis traded another set of buckets. A white flag raised from the visitor’s bench. Ball game.
Up Next
The Knicks roll into Chicago to face the Bulls on Halloween. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
