The Knicks led by Karl-Anthony Towns came out on a mission, destroying the Milwaukee Bucks with an inside and outside game, as NY pulverized Milwaukee 116-94 on a Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Jalen Brunson kept getting Towns the ball, and Towns kept attacking the basket, or hitting 3’s, while the Knicks as a team laid down a tough Defense and attacked from all directions — NY making up for the blown late lead against Atlanta in their prior game.
Towns finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds and would have had more but was able to rest in the 2nd half as NY built a 30-pt lead. The Knicks raced out to a 17-7 advantage, led by 19 at the half, and were up by as many as 30 with 4 minutes left.
“I thought the start of the game was important for us,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. ” We played with a really good pace; guys were looking for each other; they saw the floor really well; and when you have vision of everyone and can recognize things you end up getting a good rhythm from that.”
“I liked how we played,” Thibs added. “We shared the ball, we made plays, we cut, we got people open, we screened well, we did a lot of little things. I thought OG and Mikal really set the tone for us defensively, and Josh as well. I thought Jalen played a great floor game. And our bench came in and did a good job as well. It’s a good solid win; it’s improvement, and that’s what we’re striving for — just get better every day.”
NY improves to 4-4. Milwaukee drops to 2-7.
1. Towns Leads Early Charge
The Knicks came out intent on erasing the prior last-minute flop of a loss — with Jalen Brunson attacking and feeding Karl Anthony-Towns, who dominate inside and out.
lettin’ it fly from downTOWNS 🎯@karltowns pic.twitter.com/9a8jj3oi18
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 9, 2024
Brunson couldn’t get his shot to fall — partly due to Milwaukee loading up their defense on him — but kept penetrating and feeding, and the Knicks as a team passed and attacked in all directions.
“Good things happen when you play with ball movement and movement off the ball — along with making the extra pass for an even better look while having the ball not stick — and the New York Knicks did that tonight,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “Also, rebounded the ball, defended, made extra effort plays and competed.”
OG with AUTHORITY 🔨 pic.twitter.com/gUuqVwVJoq
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 9, 2024
The Knicks now have a team loaded with 3-point snipers — from Karl Anthony-Towns to Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, who are sharpshooters from the corner, to Jalen Brunson in the backcourt with Miles McBride hitting 3’s off the bench.
2. Anunoby & Mikal & Hart DEFENSE
And the Knicks have loaded up with great Defensive players who play a great Team Defense coached by Thibodeau. OG Anunoby was All League Defensive 2nd Team 2 years ago, Mikal Bridges was All League Defensive 1st Team 3 years ago, and Josh Hart should have made an All League Defensive team by now.
They were all ripped off this past season, when the NBA went to a position-less vote — so 4 centers were named to the 1st team (Victor Wembanyama, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, and Rudy Gobert).
“OG is very unique in the sense that he’s got strength, he’s got speed, he’s got anticipation, and a 2nd and 3rd effort mentality,” said Thibs about Anunoby. “And I think that goes a long way. A lot of things he does for the team really go unnoticed. I think his teammates have great appreciation for him; certainly the coaching staff and organization does. You can’t measure all the little things in every possession that he does.”
“And same thing with Mikal — Mikal takes on whoever the primary ballhandler is and works on it all game long and keeps coming,” added Thibs. “And Josh is going to hustle, get to loose balls, and push the pace and do what he does.”
OG played Giannis Antetokounmpo, and limited him to 24 points on 11-21 shooting — not a bad game but Greek Freak was not able to dominate at all — finishing with a -17. OG had 14 points and a +19.
Bridges played Damian Lillard at times — who was limited to 19 pts on 6-15 shooting (0-4 from 3) for a -28, and Bridges played Taurean Prince at other times; Prince was 1-4 for 3 pts and a -28. Bridges had 17 pts on 7-18 shooting (3-11 from 3) for a +21.
Hart had 11 points on 4-5 shooting (1-1 from 3), with 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and a +19.
Brook Lopez looked old and slow and didn’t seem to have the energy to keep up with Karl-Anthony Towns.
3. NY Up 19 At the Half & After 3
Milwaukee pushed back late in the 1st quarter to get back within 4 points, but the Knicks kept pushing it — executing on Defense and Offense to pull out to a 19-point 3rd quarter lead.
that’s what JB does! 💨@jalenbrunson1 pic.twitter.com/4VpULCmQaT
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 9, 2024
4. NY Puts It Away in 4th
NY maintained the 19-point lead throughout the 3rd quarter, and then put the game away in the 4th — pushing the lead to 30 points with 4 minutes left.
3️⃣2️⃣ dropped 32 in @TheGarden 😊@karltowns pic.twitter.com/Fdihi7wtep
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 9, 2024
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