The Milwaukee Bucks ended their chances of going any further in the NBA Cup, losing to the New York Knicks 109-118 at MSG. Giannis was great in his return, dropping 30 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists. For the Knicks, it was Jalen Brunson who starred with 37 points and five assists.
The first quarter was a quarter of runs, backed by a 9/13 (!) quarter from three for Milwaukee. The Bucks got out to an 18-10 lead behind two AJ Green triples and one from Myles Turner, as Giannis orchestrated. Then it was the Knicks’ turn, who responded with a 9-0 run as the Bucks turned the ball over, allowing the home team to get freebies in transition. Then, of course, Milwaukee came back with an 11-0 run off consecutive threes from Rollins and yet another from Green. AJ played the whole first quarter, and he was out there in the final minutes with an all-bench unit; the Knicks took advantage of this lineup and cut their deficit back to just four, 33-37, after one.
Milwaukee’s mostly bench lineup was unable to find much flow on offence to open the second, which allowed Josh Hart to feast in transition and the lead back for New York; Giannis and Rollins checked in almost immediately. On cue, the Bucks responded with an 11-0 run behind threes from Trent and Harris, and two Giannis bully-ball layups; visitors up 50-40 with seven minutes left. New York took a few minutes but eventually responded with stops and scores to whittle Milwaukee’s lead down to four, 51-55, with just over four minutes on the clock; Mitchell Robinson was becoming a load on the O-glass. Giannis sat out the final few minutes, and the Knicks’ barrage continued, briefly taking a two-point lead before Kyle Kuzma nailed a deep three seconds before the half expired to have the Bucks up 62-61.
The third quarter was one where both teams went blow for blow throughout the period, with neither side nabbing that big of an edge. KAT opened the second half with his first three of the game, which was immediately followed by one from Rollins. From there, Giannis got involved from the mid-range and in transition, while on the other side, Jalen Brunson began to really assert his dominance; Brunson had 16 points in the period. Cole Anthony regained some confidence in his late stint with a running layup and a clever play in which he drew the three-point foul on Towns to end the period. Unfortunately, Anthony only made one of three free throws to give the Knicks a 92-88 edge after three.
The Knicks came out going gangbusters to open the fourth as Deuce McBride made back-to-back threes, followed by another bomb from Tyler Kolek in transition to force the Bucks’ timeout 1:20 seconds in. Kyle Kuzma came out of the timeout and made his second off-the-dribble triple of the game to calm the Bucks. Milwaukee made another charge midway through the period after a Rollins drive to the hoop and a Kuzma corner three to get the deficit down to just four—Knicks timeout. The Bucks forced seven straight Knicks misses to get the lead to two, but an overzealous challenge by Giannis on a Brunson three let the Knicks off the hook. Kuzma came back with his third three of the night, which was followed by a McBride three of the short-roll pass. A late Brunson and-one was the dagger, ending the Bucks’ chances of advancing in the NBA Cup.
The Bucks lost the possession battle again tonight, with the Knicks grabbing 14 offensive rebounds to the Bucks’ five; New York also shot eight more free throws.
