Knicks fall to Bucks as Jalen Brunson loses shooting duel with Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks dribbles the ball against Ryan Rollins of the Milwaukee Bucks during the first quarter. Credit: Getty Images
MILWAUKEE — For much of the night the game had been a duel between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jalen Brunson, the two All-NBA players dragging their teams to the fourth quarter.
But in the end, after rumors and speculation about his future — and maybe leaving Milwaukee for the Knicks — Antetokounmpo came out and took the game over. And when he was in the midst of it, he pounded his chest and you could see him mouthing, “This is my city.”
And it was as he poured in 37 points to lead the Bucks to a 121-111 win over the Knicks. Afterward, he dismissed any notion that he was interested in any other city.
“I don’t read that,” he said of the ESPN report that spurred the speculation. Asked if there was truth to the story he shook his head no and said, “I don’t remember that. Right now I’m here representing my team, and that’s it.
“We beat the Knicks. So it doesn’t matter. What matters right now is we have a game in two days against Golden State, try to stay locked in and get two in a row. But I didn’t read that article. I try to stay away from all that rumors and speculation and trade. It doesn’t concern me one bit. I try to involve myself and I try to help my team win games.”
For the Knicks the focus in the end was on themselves. Brunson, who had to once again almost single-handedly keep the team in the game, finishing with 36 points, went to the floor in pain midway through the fourth quarter, seemingly hurt enough that even Antetokounmpo leaned in to make sure he was OK.
The Knicks called timeout and the training staff rushed to the court. But when the Knicks took the floor again Brunson was back, never taking a second off.
Predictably, afterward Brunson dismissed any talk of the injury and ended the talk when asked if he would be able to play Friday in Chicago.
But the Knicks gave him little help other than helping him to his feet. Karl-Anthony Towns endured a nightmarish performance, shooting just 2-for-12 and finishing with eight points and 12 rebounds. OG Anunoby, tasked with trying to defend Antetokounmpo, had no luck on that end, and offensively he was just 3-for-11 for nine points.
The Knicks led by as many as 14 and were still up 12 at halftime, but it was tied when Brunson went down and it fell apart from there.
“First off, you have to give them credit,” Brunson said. “Yeah, we had it tied but we weren’t playing the style of basketball that we should have been playing in the second half.
“Kept it close enough until the six-minute mark and the way we were playing crept up on us and then it got out of hand. I think we got complacent a little bit, myself included. Just got to keep the foot on the gas, keep playing the right way.
“We can’t lose our aggressiveness in the way that we were playing. We were really fluid out there, we were just making plays for each other and we had a lot of great shots and everything was tough in the second half.”
Mike Brown was discussing the challenge that Antetokounmpo poses on the court, but he maybe inadvertently provided the only quote necessary for any Knicks fans watching Tuesday night’s game — and maybe the standings all year — with one eye on their own team and one eye on Antetokounmpo for any hint that he might want to head to New York City.
“He’s a monster,” Brown said before the game. “He just causes everybody to pay attention to him all the time.”
Antetokounmpo said that the only extra juice for facing the Knicks came from their performance against him last season.
“They swept us last year. They were way better than us last year. We didn’t make it tough for them. It was very easy in my opinion. As the leader of this team, I remember. I don’t forget things. I try to from early shootaround set the tone for the team and try to remind them last year they swept us, same with the Cavs. I think the team responded in the best way, so I’m happy.”
The Knicks limited Antetokounmpo to just four points in the first quarter, forcing him into as many turnovers as he had field goals (two), but still trailed 27-26 mostly because no one other than Brunson was able to score. While Brunson had 15 points, the Knicks missed nine of 10 shots beyond the arc — nine in a row after Mikal Bridges opened the game with a corner three.
After the Knicks stretched the streak to 10 consecutive misses from three they finally connected — with Bridges hitting, and the Knicks managed eight for 10 in the second quarter. So even with Antetokounmpo getting on track, scoring 10 second quarter points, the Knicks were able to build a 71-59 halftime lead.
Notes & quotes: The Knicks were without three members of their rotation — Mitchell Robinson missing his fourth straight game to start the season with what the team is calling left ankle work load management, Deuce McBride missing his second straight for personal reasons, and Guerschon Yabusele sidelined with a sprained left knee.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
