The Knicks played their most complete game of the season, stifling the Bucks with their defense and all five starters scored in double figures as New York won 116-94 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a game-high 32 points while Jalen Brunson had nine of the Knicks’ 35 assists, a season high.
Here are the takeaways…
-The Knicks dominated the paint early in this one. The big men laid up layups and dunks, sometimes with ease, while the guards cut toward the basket and made their mid-range jumpers. The Knicks had 14 points in the paint in the opening frame and were plus-four on the boards. Towns was the highlight of the first quarter, putting up 13 points — the only player in double figures after one — and drenching a Bucks center. Brook Lopez to set up the Garden crowd.
Just because the Knicks dominated the paint doesn’t mean they avoided the three-point shot. New York was not efficient with their shooting but went 12-for-39 from long range. They also kept Milwaukee from setting threes. The Bucks were just 6-of-24 from three and Damian Lillard was 0-for-4 from deep including two air balls.
-KAT led the charge in Knicks scoring again, scoring 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting (4-6 from three) with seven rebounds in the first half. The Bucks had no answer for him beyond the arc or when he was eaten in the paint especially with Lopez guarding him, which Milwaukee kept throwing the veteran center at him.
Milwaukee finally figured out that Lopez couldn’t guard Towns and put Giannis Antetokounmpo on him The added athleticism of the two-time MVP helped the Bucks somewhat contain Towns. That combined with some foul trouble kept Towns from putting up monster numbers but he continued to do well for himself. The first-year Knick scored 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting (4-8 from three) with 11 rebounds and five assists.
-Brunson started the night 0-for-5 from the field and didn’t make his first basket until 5:25 left in the second quarter. Despite not having his shot, the guard continued to make winning plays, whether it was feeding Towns in the first half or finding the open man. Despite his poor shooting, Brunson still scored 15 points but did it with his passing, dishing out nine assists.
–Jericho Sims had probably his best minutes of the season. He was physical and came down with three boards (all offensive) and even put up a dunk. Sims was part of an impressive Knicks bench that combined to score 27 points, led by Miles McBride‘s 14 points. With the Bucks throwing in the towel with eight minutes remaining (!), that allowed Matt Ryan to see some time. The shooter went 1-for-2 — both shots from three — in his six minutes of play.
–AND Anunoby found himself in foul trouble in the first half and only played 15 minutes but he pressed Giannis who had 12 points at the half on 5-of-11 shooting. Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points on 11-of-21 shooting. His assignment was switched to Lillard in the second half and continued to play great defense against another prolific shooting guard. Lillard scored 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting with the combination of Anunoby and Mikal Bridges on him
Game MVP: Jalen Brunson
Although Towns was the offensive star but Brunson was the stable force of that victory. When Cities was on the bench in foul trouble, the offense continued to hum.
highlights
What follows
The Knicks hit the road again, this time they head to Indiana to face the Pacers. Tip is set for Sunday at 5 p.m
