NEW YORK – The Bucks had not only been defeating their opponents, but they were doing so with ease. Therefore, in front of a packed home crowd and a national television audience, the New York Knicks took advantage of the Christmas stage to make a statement against Milwaukee. Jalen Brunson had an outstanding performance, scoring 38 points, and the Knicks put an end to Milwaukee’s seven-game winning streak, finally breaking their losing streak against the Bucks with a 129-122 victory on Monday.
The Knicks had lost nine consecutive meetings against the Bucks, including a 130-111 defeat in the first game of this two-game series on Saturday. Despite the Bucks dominating New York in their previous encounters throughout December, they couldn’t find a solution to Brunson this time. The point guard received ample support from his teammates.
“They are a formidable team. We believe in our abilities as well, so we embraced the challenge of finally defeating them,” said guard Immanuel Quickley. “It had been a while since we last beat them, so this victory feels great.”
Julius Randle contributed 24 points and nine rebounds, RJ Barrett bounced back from a subpar performance on Saturday with 21 points, and Quickley made a significant impact off the bench with 20 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard both scored 32 points for the Bucks, who now have a 9-2 record this month. Khris Middleton added 24 points.
In the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament on December 5, the Bucks scored a whopping 146 points against the Knicks and continued their strong offensive display on Saturday. However, they appeared to lack energy on Monday, likely due to their extended stay in New York for Christmas, with another game against the Brooklyn Nets scheduled for Wednesday.
“We were aware of the challenges we would face coming into this game, and we accept the outcome,” said Lillard. “We won the first game, but the Knicks had a strong start, played exceptionally well, and simply outperformed us.”
Despite averaging 132.4 points in December, the Bucks struggled to reach 40 points until there were less than four minutes remaining in the first half. They found themselves trailing by 16 points with 4 and a half minutes left in the game before making a late push.
