Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his blistering start to the 2025 season as the Bucks took down a top Eastern Conference contender, the New York Knicks, winning 121-111. Milwaukee was winless in three tries
versus New York last season. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Giannis Antetokounmpo
33 minutes, 37 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, 16/22 FG, 5/7 FT, +18
Giannis continues to build his MVP resume with another impressive stat line. It’s his third straight game of scoring 31+ points and shooting over 70% from the field. Doing it all for “his city.”
Grade: A
Myles Turner
30 minutes, 5 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 1/6 FG, 1/5 3PT, 2/2 FT, +18
The offensive struggles continued for Turner, with the third time in four games, he’s failed to shoot over 40% from the field. The defense has been as good as advertised—and then some—and the Bucks have needed it every step of the way.
Grade: B-
Gary Trent Jr.
30 minutes, 11 points, 4/9 FG, +9
It was a relatively quiet game for Trent, even though we did see him hit a layup while being fouled. When the Bucks needed a dagger, he gave them one, sealing the Bucks’ third win of the season.
Grade: B
Ryan Rollins
26 minutes, 25 points, 4 assists, 8/11 FG, 4/4 3PT, +12
What a revelation Rollins has been, and tonight proved it again. A new career high in points with 25, and he took the most challenging defensive assignment in guarding Jalen Brunson. The Bucks needed another guy to step up, and Rollins did that in spades.
Grade: A+
AJ Green
23 minutes, 9 points, 4 fouls, 3/5 3PT, +13
This was going to be another game where Green struggled to match up physically with big wings. Green held his own on that end, and when the Bucks turned it up in the third quarter, he was right in the middle of it with three crucial bombs from beyond the arc.
Grade: B
Cole Anthony
24 minutes, 4 points, 9 assists, 4 fouls, 2/6 FG, +1
While a C+ might seem harsh, the inefficiencies on the offensive end and the four fouls (even if they are the Brunson calls) take it down a notch. After coming in early for Rollins, who got hit by a Mikal Bridges elbow on a layup, he did a great job of running the ship and dishing the rock.
Grade: C+
Bobby Portis
16 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 4/10 FG, -8
This was probably one of Bobby’s better games of the four games we have to look at for this year. But he still had the worst plus/minus on the team and took those dreaded mid-range fadeaway shots again. The arrow is trending slightly up, but not by much.
Grade: C-
Kyle Kuzma
19 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 0/2 FG, 5/6 FT, -1
I know I just dinged Anthony for the lack of offensive production, but I can’t understate the defensive performance Kuzma had against Karl-Anthony Towns as the small-ball five. It’s the most active on the defensive end I have seen from him in a Bucks uniform. He was part of an effort that limited KAT to 2/12 shooting and just eight points. Towns averaged over 25 a night against the Bucks a season ago.
Grade: A-
Taurean Prince
21 minutes, 8 points, 3/4 FG, -7
It was another solid performance from Prince. He did a solid enough job defensively, even when pressed into service to guard Brunson with Rollins and Anthony in a bit of foul trouble. The -7 does drop the grade down a bit, but that was more of Rivers leaving him and Coffey on the floor together for longer than needed.
Grade: C+
Amir Coffey
14 minutes, 8 points, 2/3 FG, -5
An efficient eight points is something you would love to get out of your 10th man in the rotation. There were some down moments for Coffey, but considering his role and the positives he had tonight, it’s easy to overlook some of those lapses.
Grade: B-
Doc Rivers
Doc leaving in a lineup of Taurean Prince and Amir Coffey together in the second quarter nearly cost the Bucks the game. From the start of the second, Rivers left that lineup in for 5:13 of game time, and the Knicks outscored them 19-14 to take a 45-41 lead. That run led to a 45-point quarter for New York and a double-digit lead at halftime. They did figure it out and pulled out the win, but it was a rough day for Doc against Mike Brown.
Grade: C-
DNP-CD: Gary Harris, Andre Jackson Jr., Jericho Sims, Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Inactive: Kevin Porter Jr., Mark Sears, Pete Nance, Alex Antetokounmpo
Bonus Bucks Bits
- The Bucks continued their excellent shooting to begin the year, with their fourth consecutive game shooting at least 50% from the field. They are now just one game short of tying the franchise record for consecutive games to open a season shooting 50% or better from the field. The last time they did it was at the beginning of the 1971–72 season.
- Giannis became the sixth player in NBA history with a three-game streak of 30+ points on 70% shooting. It’s also the first time in 29 years that someone has done it, with Shaquille O’Neal accomplishing the feat back in January of 1996.
- After throwing down a monster dunk in the third quarter, Giannis could be seen on the broadcast saying, “This is my city.” There also appeared to be something he said afterwards, which he clarified postgame: “I thrive when it’s tough.”
- As mentioned before, Kuzma was tasked with defending Towns in the post at times and did a stellar job. Kuzma talked about the matchup and his game plan for defending the former All-Star big man:
“Know your personnel, watching games, and understanding what players want to do. I think I’ve been in the league long enough and played against Towns long enough to understand what he wants and what he wants to do. Being out there, being physical, and putting a body on him. A lot of times when you play physical guys, they don’t want you to be physical, so just bringing that attitude and mentality to the game, it probably frustrated [Towns] a little bit.”
- During the fourth quarter, the Bucks held the Knicks scoreless for nearly 4 minutes, helping secure the win. I asked Doc Rivers what he thought of the stretch after the game:
“It’s probably what I’ll focus on the most when I watch the film. I think you can make offensive runs or defensive runs, and I thought tonight we made a defensive run. That’ll build more confidence for our guys.”
- With the New York media in town, you knew that there would be questions surrounding ESPN’s Shams Charania’s report that Giannis preferred the Knicks if he ever left the Bucks. When asked if any of that was a distraction, here was his response:
“I don’t have time, I have four kids. I have a seven-month-old, a two-year-old, a four-year-old, and a five-year-old. So, brother, I don’t have time to read. Even if I wanted to pay attention to things like that, my life doesn’t let me. I have four little gremlins that are running around, I have my craft I have to improve, and then I gotta lead the team, and then I got other things. I got my wife, I got my mother, I got my brothers, I got to go to church, I ain’t got time for all of that. I just love playing basketball, and I try to speak on the court.”
Up Next
The Bucks have two more home tilts this week, with their next one coming on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central, and you can catch the action on NBA TV and FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
