Bucks can't solve Towns, Knicks in 116-94 loss to fall to 2-7 on season
NEW YORK – The Milwaukee Bucks are still in search of their first winning streak of the season after losing 116-94 to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden Friday night. The Bucks couldn’t stack wins after snapping a six-game losing streak Thursday night against Utah.
The Bucks fell to 2-7 while the Knicks improved to 4-4. Milwaukee heads back home and will face the Boston Celtics in a Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 24 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots. He was 11 for 21 from the field overall and was 2 of 6 from the free throw line. Damian Lillard scored 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting, but he did not make a three-pointer on just four attempts.
The two stars combined for just eight assists and were the only players to reach double figures in scoring while the regulars were in.
“A better team tonight than we played (Thursday) night and to accomplish what we accomplished it takes a little bit more work,” Lillard said of the Knicks being able to slow the Bucks down offensively.
“Your pace has to be better, you screen harder, you have to get to spots faster. Your purpose in each part of our execution has to be better.
"When you have a team be physical – they’re a little bit older so they understand what’s coming at ‘em – and I think we just didn’t do a good enough job of fighting for our spots and having a good enough pace and they kind of was able to disrupt what were trying to do. And that limited us getting into the paint and them having to react and the ball going out and hopping around and giving you trouble.”
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Mikal Bridges (17 points), Jalen Brunson (15), OG Anunoby (14) and Josh Hart (11) joined reserve Miles McBride (14) in double figures.
Knicks turn to Karl-Anthony Towns to wear down Bucks
At halftime, if you would have told the Bucks that Brunson would have made one shot and Bridges two for a combined nine points, no doubt they’d be happy with that effort – and perhaps expecting to be in the game, if not leading. But despite the solid defensive effort on the assortment of Knicks wing players (Anunoby had six points and Hart had eight), Milwaukee had no answer for Towns.
When Brook Lopez was matched up on him, Towns used his speed to get downhill and go right to the rim. Of his 6 two-point field goals in his first 21 minutes three were dunks and two were layups. Then, when Antetokounmpo was on him he stretched out and knocked down a few of his 4 three-pointers.
BOX SCORE: Knicks 116, Bucks 94
His 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting was the Knicks offense in the first half, as the rest of the team was a combined 14 for 35 (40%) for 39 points.
“Well, we didn’t want Giannis to start the game on ‘KAT’ and that was a mistake, obviously,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “Where I was concerned with Brook on ‘KAT’ was in transition and that’s where it manifested itself. Brook is so used to getting back in the paint. Either way he would’ve had to guard someone. It might’ve been Anunoby. We ask so much of Giannis, the last thing we want him to do is start the game on their best offensive player.”
Rivers has a belief that if something is working offensively to keep going to it until the other team stops it – and that’s exactly what the Knicks did with Towns. And, unfortunately for the Bucks, they couldn’t find an answer during halftime. Towns scored five points in the first seven minutes of the second half, eventually drawing in extra defenders and Knicks wing players eventually knocked down threes.
Towns scored his 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting, including a 4-for-8 mark from behind the three-point line, through three quarters. He also had five assists that led to 11 points.
Second-chance points plague Bucks
In taking a commanding 19-point halftime lead, the Knicks attacked the Bucks in a couple of familiar ways – the offensive glass and pressure defense.
The Knicks pulled down 11 offensive rebounds and scored 15 points off those extra chances. They also turned the Bucks over eight times for an additional 11 points.
“I would say just the offensive rebounds early on," Rivers said. "I thought the first eight minutes we got stops on every possession and then they got the ball back. They had eight offensive rebounds in the first nine minutes of the game. It’s deflating. Because that’s where they scored on a ton. And because I thought they just controlled the pace the entire game because of it. They used the clock. They kept moving the ball. Then they shoot, they get a rebounds, they get another rebound and now we’re walking the ball up the floor playing slow basketball."
Those have been issues that have plagued Milwaukee throughout the early part of thr season, including their six-game losing streak, but having both be problems in the same game really hadn’t been a problem since the opening of the losing streak against Chicago and Brooklyn in late October.
Those problems often negated good team defense for the Bucks in the halfcourt, as they couldn’t finish the possession by collecting or miss – or letting the Knicks pick up the pace by quickly moving the other direction after a turnover.
“It’s been like a constant thing for us for the start of the season, trying to finish out possessions each time down the floor,” Bobby Portis Jr. said. “Gang rebound has to be a thing. Obviously it can’t just fall upon just a couple people, especially with the long rebound. A lot of threes being shot these days so rebounds don’t just come to the paint anymore, they fly back to the three-point line. So, have to gang rebound as best as we can and limit guys to one shot.”
Milwaukee cleaned up both aspects coming out of the break (one offensive rebound allowed for one point, zero turnovers) in the first seven minutes of the third quarter – but at that point they couldn’t come up with enough stops (or baskets) to make it a game.
Bucks switch up rotations looking for spark
Andre Jackson Jr. started for the second straight night, but more than that Antetokounmpo played the entire first quarter while Lillard subbed out for the last few minutes. That mean Antetokounmpo played with a bench unit of Portis, AJ Green, Ryan Rollins and Pat Connaughton. That group trimmed an 11-point deficit down to seven at the end of the first quarter.
“Athletic(ism) and speed – we’re just looking to get more speed on the floor, more athleticism," Rivers said.
Lillard then began the second quarter with Lopez, Green, Portis and Connaughton and got the Bucks to with 34-29 in the first minute of action – but the Knicks went on an 18-8 run over the next five minutes to build a 15-point advantage and the Knicks never looked back.
Green started in place of Jackson to begin the second half, but clearly Rivers is still looking for the right combinations of players to generate offense. Down 19 points at the break, Rivers clearly wanted that group of starters to play out the early part of the second half to see if they could spark a run, but it wasn’t to be as they were subbed out after nearly seven straight minutes of action still behind 19.
“We think we know where we want to go," Rivers said of his rotational changes. "I guess the biggest change is Giannis playing more straight minutes in the first quarter and that way we stay faster. So when Bobby comes in he’s playing more with Giannis to start. We keep our speed that way. The problem there is now you have to bring Dame out and sub Dame usually three times in each half, which is problematic. But, it’d be good for Dame in the long run.”
Rivers eventually kept that entire unit in until 1 minute, 49 seconds remained in the third while Antetokounmpo and Green played the entire period.
Antetokounmpo and Lillard then played fourth quarter minutes with Portis, Green and Prince.
Veteran guard Delon Wright was shelved entirely for a second straight game when the regular rotation players were in and after the game Rivers said the 22-year-old Rollins had surpassed the veteran combination guard.
“Yeah, right now he has," Rivers said. "Just I think he’s more athletic. I don’t think Delon was playing great. I do think Delon will come back to us. Like, all these guys hve to be ready when their time is called. Then when someone else (is playing), they have to be ready to get back those minutes and I think our guys will do that.”
Five numbers
0 Points by Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson in the first quarter, as he missed all five of his shots.
2 Games this season in which Damian Lillard has not made a three-pointer (Oct. 31 at Memphis).
8:23 Time remaining in the game when Bucks head coach Doc Rivers used his final timeout, emptying the bench.
20: Three-pointers shot by the Bucks through three quarters. They made just six (three by AJ Green). The Knicks were 11-for-35 (31.4%) through three quarters in taking a 91-72 lead.
Rivers: "I didn’t think we moved the ball very well today offensively. Just look at the shot disparity. It’s not a good shot chart for us. When we have a more shot – obviously Dame and Giannis should always have more – but no one else had a lot. So, we gotta be better there as well.”
53.6: Giannis Antetokounmpo's shooting percentage (37-for-69) his last three games, the first of which he strained an adductor muscle. He shot 64% (38-for-59) his first three games of the season.
Gary Trent Jr. ruled out with back spasms
Milwaukee shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. played just eight minutes against Utah on Thursday night before being sidelined with back spasms. The tightness knocked him out of the game against the Knicks on Friday, but he did make the trip with the team to New York.
He acknowledged he's been managing some back issues for the last week and a half, "doing everything we can to make sure we get all the way right. Different strengthening, different mobility, different flexibility, different type of things but for the most part I'm dealing with a little bit of stuff. I'll be fine though. Nothing crazy."
It's a tough time to go through an injury, too, as the Bucks are now in the throes of a five-games-in-seven-days stretch, which includes two sets of back-to-backs.
"You never really get a break, you know what I'm saying?" he said. "So even if you're doing treatment the whole week you're still trying to go through practice, still practicing and still trying to play and then it gets to a point where you need a day or two to hopefully (rest) and then I can come back stronger than ever. That's the goal."
While he said it's not a serious injury, the limitations caused by the back issues may have contributed to a tough start for Trent, who is is shooting just 23% from behind the three-point line and 29.5% overall. Coming into his first year in Milwaukee, Trent was a career 38.6% three-point shooter and 14-point-per-game scorer.
"The situation on how it started, how it's going, the record, my back, it's all ugly," the 25-year-old said while shaking his head in the locker room before the game. "But again, it gotta get ugly before it gets sunny with rainbows and sunshine. It's going to work itself out. It's super early in the season. Super early in the season. But, we're gonna be good. We'll be good."
Is Giannis playing?
Yes. He is listed as such on the second night of back-to-back games, which is promising. Antetokounmpo opened Thursday as questionable to play vs. the Jazz with a right adductor strain before playing just over 30 minutes and was typically dominant, scoring 31 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.
Bucks injury report
Khris Middleton, out (surgery on both ankles)"It went well," Doc Rivers said of Middleton's three-on-three session on Thursday. "It went well. Now, next steps are...I don't know. But he'll take next steps and just keep working. I think tomorrow when we get back we're going to try to do something more live with him on the floor."
Gary Trent Jr., out (back spasms)"He's been having back stiffness, it became spasms yesterday," Doc Rivers said.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, available (right adductor strain)
Knicks injury report
Precious Achiuwa, out (strained left hamstring)
Mitchell Robinson, out (left ankle surgery)
Cam Payne, out (strained left hamstring)
Bucks starting lineup
Guards: Damian Lillard, Andre Jackson Jr.
Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince
Center: Brook Lopez
What channel is the Bucks game on?
The Bucks will tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Steve Novak and Melanie Ricks on the call.
Bucks vs. Knicks odds, over/under
Milwaukee is a 7.5-point underdog on the road in New York. The over/under for the game is 223.5 points, per BetMGM.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks can't solve Towns, Knicks in 116-94 loss to fall to 2-7 on season
