NEW YORK – In an early-season clash of two struggling teams with championship expectations, the New York Knicks came out on top, looking every inch a contender.
On the receiving end of a sound 116-94 beating on Friday (Saturday Manila time) were the Milwaukee Bucks, who looked more like a lottery team.
The Knicks improved to 4-4 as Karl-Anthony Towns exploded for 27 of his 32 points in the first half while they collectively played their best defense of the season, holding the Bucks to a season-low in scoring.
Towns caught Brook Lopez, an NBA All-Defensive First Team member just two seasons ago, flat-footed.
The Knicks exploited that mismatch to the hilt and built an early double-digit lead.
Towns shot 10-of-16 from the field, nailing back-to-back 3-pointers to start the game. He also had a couple of rim-rattling dunks, including a one-handed slam against Lopez in the second quarter that rocked the Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks led by as many as 30 points in the wire-to-wire win that erased some doubts about their ability to contend this season after back-to-back losses to Houston and Atlanta before this rousing victory.
Those twin losses showed that the Knicks’ chemistry is still a work in progress as they are still acclimating Towns and Mikal Bridges.
“It’s a good, solid win,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “It's improvement, and that's what we're shooting for every day. Just keep getting better.”
With Towns firing on all cylinders, OG Anunoby and Bridges set the Knicks defensive tone.
Anunoby forced Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to miss his first four shots.
Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks with 24 points, didn’t score a basket until the final 2:15 of the opening quarter with Anunoby on the bench saddled with two quick fouls.
“OG is very unique in the sense that he's got strength, he's got speed, he's got anticipation, he's got a second, third, effort, mentality, and I think that goes a long way,” Thibodeau said. “A lot of the things that he does for the team really go unnoticed, but his teammates have great appreciation for him, certainly the coaching staff and the organization. You can't measure all the little things in every possession that he does.”
But on this night, Anunoby had a complete line to back up his coach’s praise.
The 6-foot-7 forward scored 14 points and stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson missed his first five shots as the Bucks loaded up on him.
Rivers threw different defenders with length at Brunson from the pair of 6-foot-6 wings Andre Jackson Jr. and veteran Taurean Prince and 6-foot-4 guard AJ Green.
Brunson more than made up for his early shooting struggle by setting the table for his teammates, especially Towns. He matched his season-high nine assists with no turnover. And he still wound up scoring in double digits with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting as he came alive in the second half.
Brunson made five of his last seven shots.
“I thought we played with a really good pace,” Thibodeau said. “We're looking for each other. I thought they saw the floor really well. And when you have a vision of everyone, and you can recognize things, you end up getting a good rhythm from that. I liked how we played.”
The Knicks dished out a season-high 35 assists, resulting in six players hitting double-figure scoring.
Bridges added 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting while helping limit Damian Lillard to 19 points.
Josh Hart flirted with a triple-double (11 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists). Miles McBride came off the bench to score 14 points.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said before the game that he couldn’t care less about the Knicks’ uneven start.
“Have you seen us? Have you seen our record? I think that’s what I’m more focused on right now,” Rivers said. “I know the Knicks’ coach, and I know that he’s going to get it all together. I’m sure of that.
“Tom’s a phenomenal coach. They made changes to their core guys. Chemistry is an amazing thing. They had it last year, and they’ll get it back. You don’t just wake up and have it. It takes time. It will come for them, I guarantee it.”
Doc Rivers on Knicks’ 3-4 start:
— alder almo (@alderalmo) November 9, 2024
“I don’t care.” pic.twitter.com/yhAapEBTh2
Rivers spoke it into existence.
But he didn’t know it would come too soon at their expense.
As a result, the Bucks absorbed their seventh loss in nine starts, one night after snapping a six-game losing streak against the 1-7 Utah Jazz at home.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes US-based publications Heavy.com and Athlonsports.com.