Recaps
Knicks Continue to Plunge, Get Bucked in Milwaukee
A game of runs featured Giannis going off and not enough seconds for a Orange and Blue comeback this time
Folks, I’ve got some good news, and some bad news.
The bad news: The Knicks lost tonight, and still have not won back-to-back games since December.
The good news: The Magic won, and with this Knicks loss, New York’s draft position has improved. The tank rolls onward. (constantly refreshes Tankathon.com.)
In a weird game of prolonged runs, the Knicks were sleepwalking out of the gates. Milwaukee burst out to an 11–2 lead, and it appeared as though you’d be able to shut this game off pretty early tonight. The Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, used their never-ending reach to wreak havoc on the Knicks. In the first quarter, there was a nasty stretch where Giannis stripped Willy twice in the post on back-to-back possessions, then stripped Kristaps on the following possession after that.
Milwaukee only had eight steals according to the box score, but there was a plethora of tipped passes and deflections that went unaccounted for. The Bucks are long, and thrive off of cutting off passing lanes and getting out in transition, as was evident by their 20 fast break points tonight.
After the poor start, the Knicks clawed back to make it a two point game to end the first quarter, led by Willy Hernangómez, Kristaps Porzingis, and Carmelo Anthony. The newly minted Big 3 (I won’t apologize) combined for 33 of New York’s 56 first half points. Willy led the way with 13 points, and Carmelo and Kristaps had 10 apiece.
The second half was a tale of poor transition and interior defense, with only Derrick Rose’s strong offensive night keeping the Knicks in contention.
Rose finished with 26 points on 13-of-16 shooting and six assists. Mind you, Rose didn’t make, nor attempt, a single three-pointer or free-throw tonight. For much of the fourth quarter, Rose was the only offensive force, trading buckets with the Bucks as they started to pull away. In the end, it was faulty defense that did the Knicks in.
Shocking, I know.
The Good
- Willy Hernangómez (the first half): Willy had a tremendous first half, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and three boards. Willy was aggressive, and despite a slew of turnovers on the block, showed an array of post moves down low, including that beautiful left-handed touch he possesses. (Willy would later finish with a double-double, chipping in with 12 rebounds.)
- Derrick Rose: The only reason this wasn’t a twenty or thirty point blowout tonight was Derrick Rose. Rose finished with 26 points on an efficient night (13-of-16 FGs), and also dished out six assists. Rose scored 10 of his game-high 26 in the fourth quarter, on 5-for-6 shooting.
- Tank position has improved: The Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls tonight, the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the L.A. Clippers, and, as I write this, the Sacramento Kings are beating the San Antonio Spurs (Editor’s note: the Spurs went on the come back from 28 down and win lol).
The Bad
- Willy Hernangómez (second half): Willy got absolutely trashed defensively in the second half. Sure, the whole team was poor as a whole, but when your big men are playing poorly around the rim it tends to be a bit more glaring. Greg Monroe finished 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Giannis finished with 32, most of them by way of dunks and layups, both in transition and in the half court.
- Kristaps Porzingis: KP had decent looks for most of the game, before he started to force shots down the stretch. Like Willy, KP had himself a horrid defensive night. On top of his poor shooting, KP was unable to do anything about Giannis as well. On a night when the Knicks needed to defend the paint by any means necessary, KP and Willy weren’t able to get the job done. Related: The Bucks scored 50 points in the paint tonight. Four of those points were by 39 year old Jason Terry, on back-to-back possessions. Yuck.
- Lack of transition points: The Knicks mustered only four fast break points of their own tonight.
- Giannis vs. KP Part III was underwhelming: I was looking forward to another heavyweight fight between the two youngins, however it never came to fruition. Giannis brought his A-game tonight, while Kristaps left his in New York.
What’s next? The Knickerbockers have a date with the Pistons in Detroit on Saturday night at 5pm EST.
May the tank continue to roll.
— Kyle Maggio, senior writer
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