Milwaukee was up 18-4 before you even sat down. It looked like it was going to be one of those evenings where the Knicks got creamed by the Bucks again. And it was — although the Knicks immediately came back to within 2 points at 23-21 after a Mitchell Robinson slam late in the 1st quarter.
But then Milwaukee started to pull away again. They dominated in the 2nd quarter to pull to a 25-point halftime lead. Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo was way too tough to handle, and it didn’t help that Marcus Morris was out again with the sore neck. Antetokounmpo swept the floor with the Knicks — 37 points in only 21 minutes on 12-17 shooting, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, a +32, and 10-12 from the free throw line. Robinson tried to guard him — he picked up 5 fouls in 18 minutes (3-5 for 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block).
And it didn’t help that the Knick guards (besides RJ Barrett) could not hit their shots — Reggie Bullock was 0-8 (0-4 from 3), Elfrid Payton was 1-6, and Damyean Dotson was 0-7 (0-3 from 3).
Good News
Good news was that RJ Barrett did hit his shots — had another terrific game — and looks like a future star more and more each night. He was 6-15 (5-7 from 3) and 5-6 from the free throw line, 8 rebounds, 3 assists for 22 pts — the complete game. Playing with the big orange headband that he put on before the previous game because, he said, he needed a haircut.
#HeadbandRo is 3-4 from deep 👌 pic.twitter.com/Tk5AtJS57Q
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 15, 2020
More good news:
- Kevin Knox had another good game (3-7 (2-4 from 3) for 10 pts) ,
- Julius Randle continued to play well (10-20 for 25 pts, 15 rebounds, 3 assists), and
- Bobby Portis had a good shooting game — 8-14 (1-4 from 3) for 20 pts.
Julius 💪 pic.twitter.com/jCdgWp5kem
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 15, 2020
Bad News
But Milwaukee was too tough. They romped in the 3rd, upping their lead to 35 points. This was Cream City (although the Bucks weren’t wearing those uniforms). Milwaukee is a well-coached team by Mike Budenholzer that plays like a gloved hand on offense and defense — with Antetokounmpo dominating, and feeding Khris Middleton (6-9 for 17 pts in 21 minutes), Ersan Ilyasova (6-10, 2-4 from 3, for 14 pts), Brook Lopez, and Eric Bledsoe amongst others.
The talk in Milwaukee is if they can get 70 wins this year, and possibly break the Golden State Warriors’ record of 73. After this win, they are 36-6. The Knicks are 11-30 at the halfway mark of the season — the 3rd worst record in the NBA — but looking to play .500 ball in the 2nd half.
Etcetera
Elfrid Payton got called for two technicals at one point in the 3rd and so Kadeem Allen became the only Knick point guard. He finished with 9 pts, 6 assists. Allonzo Trier saw 9 minutes playing time in the 4th — he didn’t shoot well (1-7, 0-4 from 3 for 2 pts).
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