Knicks rout Bucks behind Jalen Brunson’s 22-point 1st quarter
The first quarter belonged to Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. The second quarter belonged to Karl-Anthony Towns. And OG Anunoby put the finishing touches on the Knicks’ best performance since the All-Star break — a 127-98 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) on Friday.
Hart scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the game against a Doc Rivers defensive scheme that ignored him behind the three-point line, and Brunson pounced after his teammate turned it on from deep to start the game.
The Knicks captain scored 22 points in the first half and finished the night with 27 points on 11 of 17 shooting from the field and four of six on three-pointers to go with seven rebounds and three assists.
The performance marked Brunson’s 10th career 20-point quarter, all 10 with the Knicks.
The Knicks finished their three-game road trip with a 2-1 record after Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bulls and Tuesday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And after scoring just 94 points in a miserable shooting performance against the Cavs, the Knicks were firing on all cylinders when the ball found the back of the net on Friday.
“Probably just moving the ball and then shooting with confidence. We made some shots today,” Anunoby said in his post-match interview. “That’s how it goes: sometimes you miss some shots. Then you make them. That’s how it goes, but you just have to take the right shots [and] move the ball.
The Knicks scored 77 points in the first half, tied for second most in the first half of the season. They shot six of nine from deep in the first quarter, 7 of 13 in the second and four of eight from downtown in the decisive third quarter. All five Knicks starters scored in double figures for the 15th time this season.
Towns finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds and scored 12 points on four-of-five shooting in the second quarter alone. Anunoby hit five 3s for 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field against the Bucks, and Landry Shamet came off the bench to hit five more 3s for 15 points. Anunoby scored 15 points in the third quarter alone to help overcome a second-half Bucks run.
“I just know it’s a great team coming out,” Anunoby said. “I try to make saves, play fast and play in transition.”
The Knicks made 17 of their first 30 attempts from deep Friday and finished the night 21 of 41 from downtown for their second-most 3-pointers in a game this season.
They shot just 10 of 37 in Tuesday’s loss to the Cavaliers, 12 of 31 in their close two-point win over the Houston Rockets and 8 of 35 in the 15-point loss to the Detroit Pistons without centers Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart.
“Any game you win is an important moment. Winning in the NBA is very difficult, so we never take it for granted, but we go back home to protect the court,” Anunoby said. “It’s cool but we’re playing again on Sunday, so I’m just ready for the next game.”
Former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner scored a team-high 19 points for the Bucks on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, and Kyle Kuzma added 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but the Knicks held Milwaukee’s offensive stars — Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins — to a combined 24 points. Porter Jr. shot 4 of 12 from the field but finished with 10 assists.
Doc Rivers emptied his bench with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter and his team was down 32. Soon after, the Bucks crowd erupted when Mike Brown called second-year guard Tyler Kolek to the scorer’s table. Kolek, a Marquette product, turned the ball over on his first possession but finished with three points in five minutes.
The Knicks picked a must-have team against a Bucks team with a losing record.
Next, the Knicks will host Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
