Bucks Pull Away in 4th. Milwaukee 123 NY 108

January 29, 2022 LouV 2021-22 0

The Knicks stayed with the defending Champion Milwaukee Bucks through 3 quarters, but in the 4th Milwaukee pulled away to the 123-108 win in Milwaukee late on a Friday night. Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo carried Milwaukee to the win with 38 points on 12-19 shooting (and 12-16 from the free throw line), 13 rebounds, and 5 assists.

The game began at 9pm Central time, ending after 1 am NYC Time. It was tough for NY fan diehards to stay up to 1 in the morning only to watch the Knicks get beaten down late — as a snowstorm howled outside that dropped 8 inches on the NYC area Friday night thru Saturday.

The Knicks fell to 23-27, losers of 3 in a row and losers of 6 of their last 7.

1. Fournier Starred for NY

The Knicks hung close with Milwaukee for most of the night in part due to the sharp shooting of Evan Fournier — who was 10-19 (5-12 from 3) for 25 points with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He had a +7.

.@EvanFourmizz steal ➡️ @RjBarrett6 SLAM pic.twitter.com/2SeiMXFz7a

— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) January 29, 2022

2. Barrett Aggressive Again

RJ Barrett had 23 points, but on 6-20 shooting — he was at one point 1-9 but then cleaned up his efficiency on his drives as the game progressed. He was 3-8 from 3 and importantly, 8-10 from the free-throw line.

PULL UP @RjBarrett6 pic.twitter.com/9HQxotPtfT

— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) January 29, 2022

3. Randle Distributed; Greek Freak Dominated

Julius Randle played a complementary game from the start — rebounding and distributing; he had 9 points on efficient 4-9 shooting (still 0-1 from 3) — with 11 rebounds and 3 assists in 37 minutes. But he was no match for The Greek Freak who owned the night. Last year, the two engaged in some furious battles but this year at this time, Randle’s confidence seems at an ebb that he is trying to crawl out of step by step.

Obi Toppin had 5 points on 2-4 shooting in 14 minutes.

AIR OBI ✈️ pic.twitter.com/owoQg8mk9r

— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) January 29, 2022

4. Knick Reserves with Poor Plus/Minuses

Because of the late Milwaukee run to close the game, the Knick reserves all had poor plus/minus numbers: Alec Burks 10 points but a -21; Quentin Grimes 11 points (4-8 from the floor; 3-7 from 3) in 18 minutes but a -20, and Immanuel Quickley 5 points and a -15.

Khris Middleton had 20 for Milwaukee; Jrue Holiday had 24, and Grayson Allen 15.