The Milwaukee Bucks have been on a rough stretch and that’s not particularly what you need before entering the NBA Playoffs in two weeks. During a Sunday night matchup, this Bucks team once again collapsed, this time in the second half during a brutal 122-109 loss at home to the New York Knicks. Milwaukee has now lost four in a row and has dropped to a record of 47-31. They are currently a game above the Orlando Magic, and the Knicks while being a game and a half ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Milwaukee will take on the top-seeded Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, then face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, and Friday. Finally, the Bucks will meet the Magic in Orlando during their final game of the 2023-2024 NBA regular season.
Milwaukee Bucks Collapse 122-109 Against the Knicks for Their Fourth Straight Loss
No team would score in this one for the first two and a half minutes of the game. For most of the first quarter, the Bucks held the lead regardless of their late start to sinking shot in. New York tied the game up at 25 with less than a minute and a half to play in the first quarter. However, Milwaukee went on a 6-0 run to give them a 31-25 lead going into the second quarter.
Milwaukee was able to maintain their lead the entire 12 minutes of the second quarter regardless of any Knicks push. They held a ten-point lead multiple times, and the Bucks would walk away at halftime with their biggest lead of the night at 11 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for Milwaukee with 18 points along with seven rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block. Damian Lillard put up 14 points as well as having three rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block. Knicks all-star Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 23 points.
Knicks Second Half Comeback
During the first eight minutes of the second half, the Bucks offense only managed to score 12 points. They were outscored by New York 39-24 in the third quarter based on the Knicks lights-out shooting as they shot 74 percent from the field and 80 percent from beyond the arc. After three-quarters of play, the Knicks now had an 89-85 lead with just 12 minutes of action left to play.
New York went on a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter, and they made sure to hold onto their lead the entire final quarter of play. The Knicks outscored the Bucks 33-24 in the fourth quarter and 72-48 during the second half to take a 122-109 road win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Top Performances
Jalen Brunson ended up leading all scorers with 43 points. He also had six rebounds and eight assists. Donte DiVincenzo recorded 26 points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block during the win. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team with 28 points. The Greek Freak also pulled down 15 rebounds and dished out eight assists while having a steal and two blocks. Damian Lillard scored 23 points with six assists in the loss.
For More Wisconsin Sports:
Follow me on Twitter at @KeithBrunnerJr., follow us @WiSportsHeroics. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Wisconsin sports, click here! Fear The Deer!