Late Holiday 3’s Ruin Knicks Run. Milwaukee 111 NY 107

January 11, 2023 LouV 2022-23 0

Jrue Holiday hit two 3’s and a killer 2-pt jumper in the final 2 minutes to ward off attempts by Jalen Brunson and the Knicks to take back this game — a one in which they led by 17 points in the 3rd quarter — sending NY to a 111-107 defeat at Madison Square Garden on a Monday night.

36-year-old Joe Ingles started the 3’s rolling for Milwaukee — coming off the bench to hit five 3’s for the Bucks in the 3rd and 4th quarters — and Brook Lopez threw a 3 in as well in the final minute to fuel the Milwaukee comeback.

The Knicks looked like the better team all night, limiting the damage of Giannis Antetokounmpo (22 pts on 6-15 shooting), and were the team dominating the action in the late going — but Milwaukee (and Holiday) kept hitting 3’s.

“We broke the lineup with 5 minutes left in the 3rd. We didn’t close the 3rd out well,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “At the start of the 4th same thing. So that was probably the biggest thing. I thought the 3’s that Holiday hit on us.. and he’s a big shot maker — I want to get a look at that to see what went down on those plays. And then, they made 3’s.”

”We loaded up pretty good on Giannis, which is the challenge, ” Thibodeau continued.  “And then you have to get in and you have to get out — so I want to see what that looked like, in terms of challenging their 3’s.”

The loss ends the Knicks’ 4-game winning streak and drops their record to 22-19; Milwaukee improves to 26-14, 3rd best record in the East.

1. Brunson Amazing Down Stretch

Jalen Brunson did everything he could to will the Knicks to this win — scoring at will in the closing minutes to answer Milwaukee’s 3’s. But Milwaukee kept hitting 3’s.

Brunson attacked the paint and saw little resistance — hitting his short jumper or driving for layups — and finished with 44 points on 15-30 shooting (4-10 from 3, 10-10 in free throws), with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

2. Dogfight Down the Stretch

It was a dogfight for the last 6 minutes.

  • Evan Fournier hit a 3 to tie the game 87-87 and then Randle hit a drive to give NY an 89-87 lead with 5:46 left.
  • But Milwaukee took back a 90-89 lead on a Pat Connaughton 3.
  • NY took a 91-90 lead on a Mitchell Robinson dunk.
  • But Brooke Lopez put Milwaukee on top 92-91 on a tip in.
  • Jalen Brunson hit a 3 for a 94-92 NY lead.
  • But Greek Freak hit a drive for a tie 94-94.
  • Brunson hit an 8-foot floater for a 96-94 NY lead with 2:34 left.
  • But Holiday hit a 3 to give Milwaukee a 97-96 lead with 2:23 left.
  • Randle hit 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game 97-97.
  • But Lopez hit a 3 to give Milwaukee a 100-97 lead with 1:46 left.
  • Brunson hit an 18 footer to make it 100-99 Milwaukee with 1:29 left.
  • But Holiday hit a step-back 3 with 1:27 left to make it 103-99 Milwaukee with 47 seconds left.
  • Brunson hit a drive to make it 103-101 Milwaukee with 42 seconds left.
  • But Holiday hit a step-back 2 to make it 105-101 Milwaukee with 29 seconds left
  • Brunson hit a floater to make it 105-103 Milwaukee with 25 seconds left.
  • But Lopez hit a dunk on a breakdown in Knick defense — NY couldn’t figure a way to foul — and Milwaukee had a 107-103 lead with 16 seconds left.
  • Brunson got fouled on a drive and made free throws to make it 107-105 with 9 seconds left.
  • Holiday was fouled and made free throws to nail it — 109-105 with 8 seconds left.
  • Brunson hit a drive to make it 109-107 with 1.1 seconds left.
  • Grayson Allen hit free throws to end it.

3. Randle Started Poorly But Ended Strong

Julius Randle was up against Greek Freak — whom he has had good games and bad games against in the past. This time Randle came out with Fire — looking to out-duel Giannis — but kept missing his 3. Randle missed his first 9 (nine) 3-point attempts in the first half before finally nailing one late in the 2nd quarter.

But Randle’s shooting picked up, and he dominated action in the 3rd quarter, en route to NY building a 17-pt lead.

Randle finished with 25 pts on 9-29 shooting (1-12 from 3), 16 rebounds, and 5 assists. He played good D on Giannis, helping to limit him to the 22 pts on 6-15 shooting.

4. Defending the Greek Freak

Besides Randle playing good individual D on Giannis, the Knicks did a good job defending the Greek Freak as a team all night by quickly forming a wall in the defensive paint whenever Giannis had the ball.

Mitchell Robinson was part of that wall, and played a strong inside defensive game — also taking on Brooke Lopez inside. Robinson’s final stat line did not show how well he played defensively. He finished with 2 points in 37 minutes, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block.

5. Quick Adds Firepower

Immanuel Quickley added firepower for the Knicks, with 23 points on 9-14 shooting (3-6 from 3).

The same couldn’t be said for Quentin Grimes who had a poor shooting night (1-7, 0-3 from 3) for 4 points — although he really didn’t take many shots and his one bucket was Amazing.

6. Other Offense

Isaiah Hartenstein looked discombobulated on offense going 0-6 for 0 points — including one play where he took 3 shots (off getting his own offensive rebound) and missed them all.

Obi Toppin played for the first time in a month, coming off the minor knee injury — and hit a 3 for 3 points on 1-3 shooting in 8 minutes.

Miles McBride played well in 14 minutes.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401468762

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