The Knicks knocked on the door of challenging the championship-caliber Bucks in the first half, but Milwaukee ran off 18 straight points in the 3rd quarter to quash any notion of that happening. The Greek Freak and team held a 20-point lead in the 4th quarter before a t00-little, too-late Knick run got NY close.
In Milwaukee on a Friday night.
The loss drops NY to 3-2; Milwaukee is 4-0.
Takeaways:
1. Greek Freak Outplayed Randle
Julius Randle played ok — but Giannis Antetokounmpo completely outshone him. The Greek Freak had 30 pts on 11-22 shooting, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, and a +27. The one achilles heel to his game remains his shooting — 1-6 from 3 and 7-11 from the free throw line.
Randle had 14 points on only 10 shots (3-10 from the floor; 6-7 in free throws) but rebounded well (12 rebounds).
Randle on CLEANUP 💪 pic.twitter.com/CXzldYaofD
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) October 29, 2022
2. Barrett Played Well But Continues to Miss 3’s
RJ Barrett had a good first half and came on strong late in the 3rd quarter to pull the Knicks out of that 18-consecutive-Milwaukee-points free fall — finishing with 20 pts on 7-17 shooting, but continues to miss his 3’s. He was 1-7 on the night, and is now 4-28 on the young season from 3 — that’s a .143 percentage.
He spent the off season practicing free throws and shooting — and his free throw shooting does look better — nothing but net most of the time — but in this game he was 5-8 to lower his free throw percentage to .792.
RJ Barrett through contact 💪 pic.twitter.com/34tUfmijWI
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) October 29, 2022
3. Robinson Spoke Too Soon
The day before the game, Mitchell Robinson told Stefan Bondy of the NY Daily News he wanted to “to make my mark” in this game against Giannis Antetokounmpo, and is also gunning for Defensive Player of the Year. “I’m trying to get it. And I’m going to continue to fight to get it,” said Robinson according to Bondy.
Robinson needs to learn to not say anything until after the game — as Greek Freak had his way on the court. Robinson did block a Greek Freak layup in the 4th quarter.
But Brooke Lopez gave the Knicks fits in this game — when Robinson helped out on Giannis, Lopez was left free underneath where he hurt the Knicks constantly. Lopez had 14 pts and 11 rebounds — but helped NY by going 0-6 from 3.
4. Brunson Just Missed 3 Before Half
Jalen Brunson JUST MISSED a 3 from 3/4 court at the buzzer to end the 1st half — which would have made it a 59-56 game. It was ruled no basket — making it still a close 59-53 game at the half.
JALEN BRUNSON FROM DEEP AT THE BUZZER 🚨 pic.twitter.com/oSZDE7X4fP
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) October 29, 2022
5. Milwaukee Looked Bigger
As Alan Hahn and Wally Szerbiak said after the game, Milwaukee just looked bigger than the Knicks all night. They aren’t a bigger team — in fact the Knicks seem to have more height with Cam Reddish and Obi Toppin on the 2nd team.
But Milwaukee hit their 3’s — and that will always make you look big.
- Grayson Allen is Milwaukee’s 6’4 starting shooting guard: he was 6-10 (4-6 from 3) for 17 points.
- Jevon Carter is Milwaukee’s 6’1″ point guard: he was 5-13 (4-11 from 3) for 14 pts.
- Jrue Holiday is Milwaukee’s other starting point guard — he is 6’3: he had 16 points on 6-19 shootign (2-6 from 3).
6. NY 2nd Team Played Well
The starters were on the court when Milwaukee went on their 18-pt run in the 3rd so they all finished with bad +/- numbers. Jalen Brunson did his best to try and calm the Knicks but finished with a -19. Evan Fournier shot well early but finished 4-12 for a -22.
The Knicks 2nd team played well.
Immanuel Quickley was 5-11 (2-4 from 3) for 14 pts and a +11.
QUICK bringing the HEAT to Milwaukee 🔥@IQ_GodSon with back to back treys. pic.twitter.com/ktL67mlJPE
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 29, 2022
Derrick Rose was 5-8 (2-3 from 3) for 12 pts.
Obi Toppin (4-7 from the floor, 3-5 from 3 for 11 pts).
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