The New York Knicks ended their recent dry spell with a statement victory Sunday afternoon, as they manhandled the Milwaukee Bucks 140-106. New York improves to 26-14 while the Bucks fall to 20-17 on the season.
Jalen Brunson put on a show at the Garden for the Knicks
It was the Jalen Brunson show for the Knicks, as he put on a scoring clinic against the Bucks with 44 points on 16-for-26 shooting from the floor and 5-for-10 from three. He also had five rebounds and six assists and was a +23.
Brunson got going right away, as he scored 23 of his points in the first quarter, which is a career-high for first-quarter points. The Bucks tried to match him up with their premier defensive guards in Andre Jackson Jr. and A.J. Green, but to no avail as Brunson was having his way with Milwaukee’s poor defense.
There was a brief injury scare for Brunson early in the third quarter, as he appeared to hurt his shoulder on a drive to the basket and immediately went to the locker room. However, he would come back at the end of the third and seemed to not be affected whatsoever, a huge sigh of relief for New York.
The Knicks snapped out of their shooting funk against Milwaukee
In recent weeks, the Knicks had struggled tremendously shooting threes. Entering Saturday, they had shot just 28% from three in their previous 10 games.
However, that slump ended with a masterful shooting performance against the Bucks. The Knicks shot 18-for-41 (43.9%) from three, including five from Brunson, two from Karl-Anthony Towns (30 points, 18 rebounds), and four from Cameron Payne, who finished with 18 points off the bench.
The Knicks played with a much quicker pace than they typically do, which allowed them to get out in transition for easy baskets all over the court. Overall, they shot 58% from the field and managed to get off 88 shot attempts.
The Knicks’ faster pace allowed them to get off more shots
Playing with pace has troubled the Knicks, as they are typically one of the slower-paced teams in the league. That slow pace was allowing good defenses to shut them down in half-court sets, which is what contributed largely to their shooting woes.
However, the Knicks took advantage of the Bucks’ lackadaisical effort on the defensive side and simply outran them all afternoon.
Additionally, they scored 60 points in the paint and dominated on the glass. New York grabbed 49 rebounds compared to Milwaukee’s 39, and the Knicks grabbed 15 more defensive boards than the Bucks.
Overview
After getting embarrassed by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, the Knicks responded with a huge victory at home over the Bucks. It doesn’t get much easier, though, as next up is the red-hot Detroit Pistons on the second leg of a back-to-back Monday night.