Despite trailing by as many as 16 points, the Milwaukee bucks came back from behind to shock the New York Knicks with a win at Madison Square Garden.
Game Featured Neck and Neck First Half, Teams Tied 52
New York shot 45 percent from beyond the arc in the first half. They made eight three-pointers that came from six different players.
For the Bucks, their offense was coming from the free throw line. They converted on 11 out of 16 free throws, which gave them a 69 shooting percentage.
There were 11 lead changes and 11 ties after the first two quarters.
Knicks Earn Biggest Lead Of Night
The third frame started by Milwaukee turning the ball over in their first two possessions. New York took advantage and lead by seven points within the first three minutes of the second half. By the 6:47 mark, the Knicks had a 15-2 run going on.
Milwaukee shot two of 10 to open the period while the Knicks made nine of their 16 field goal's. Carmelo Anthony scored 14 points in the quarter and New York lead by as many as 16. The Knicks outscored their opponents 35-21.
Bucks Come Back To Win Game
Milwaukee scored eight straight unanswered points to start the final stanza of the contest. That was only the beginning of New York’s nightmare. With 8:33 left in regulation, the Bucks continued their domination and went on a 14-2 run. Milwaukee climbed all the way up until trailing by one point. With 8.6 left in the contest, Anthony inbounded the ball to Derrick Rose.
Giannis Antetokounmpo then knocked the ball off Rose and out of bounds. The officials originally ruled the ball was off Milwaukee, but reversed the ball after reviewing the play. Antetokounmpo followed it up with his game winning shot which was made from the free throw line.
Top Performers.
Antetokounmpo scored 12 points in the final period and concluded with 27 points and 13 boards. Jabari Parker scored 15 points and Greg Monroe chipped in 18 points off the bench. Anthony notched 30 points, 11 rebounds and was 3 assists shy of a triple-double. Rose and rookie Mindaugas Kuzminskas tallied 15 points. Joakim Noah notched 8 points and 16 boards.
Quotes
Knicks’ head coach Jeff Hornacek had a message to his team and said “Not to hang your head. It’s tough. The guys played well and we did a lot of things right.”
When asked about the loss, Anthony told the media “The fight was there. The effort was there. We have to keep out head up.”
Kuzminskas then added “I think today we played better defense than before. We just need to finish stronger.”
Other Things To Note
-Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis missed his third straight game with sore left achilles.
-Bucks guard Matthew Dellavedova did not play with a strained right hamstring
-Kuzminskas’ 15 points marked a career-high.
-Anthony marked his 7th game of the season where he scores 30 or more points.
-Antetokounmpo has scored 20 or more points in the last 13 games. That’s the longest streak by a Bucks player since Michael Redd in 2006. Redd had 14 straight games.
Up Next
Tonight was the first of a home-and-home series between the two teams. They will face each other again on Friday, Jan. 6th at 8.00 P.M. EST.