What started as an auspicious game for the Knicks took a sudden U-turn three minutes into the second half when Brook Lopez blocked a shot from Jalen Brunson, who immediately grabbed his shoulder and gestured to the bench. , I walked down the tunnel to my locker. room.
However, after a brief injury scare, he burst out of the tunnel six minutes later and returned to the game to chants of “MVP”, picking up where he left off and finishing with 44 points, his second of the season. Secured a 40 point game. On Sunday, the Knicks defeated Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and the Bucks 140-106 at the Garden.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 30 points on an efficient 10-of-16 shooting. Cameron Payne added 18 points off the bench. The Knicks (26-14) finally broke out of their 3-point funk and finished five points shy of their season high.
Still, everything was in flux for the Knicks in those few minutes without Brunson.
They had already lost four of their last five games. Brunson is the star point guard and continues to be the center of the offense even after Towns' arrival. That unit was already struggling before Sunday's game, especially from beyond the arc. And on the books for 2024-25, the Knicks remain sluggish against the top four teams in each conference after their nine-game winning streak came to an end on Jan. 3, even though they were always hyped as a championship favorite. It reflected that he had continued to do so.
They took a step toward rectifying that situation Sunday against the Bucks (20-17) as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
As expected, Brunson remained at the heart of the solution both before and after going to the locker room. He scored 23 of the Knicks' 36 points in the first quarter, made 7 of 11 shots, attempted seven free throws, mixed in threes and shots from inside the arc, and in recent games It blended the balanced scoring that was missing.
Towns then took over when Brunson remained on the bench to start the second quarter.
On Nov. 8, when the Knicks defeated the Bucks in their first meeting of the season, Towns released Lopez before switching Antetokounmpo to Towns amid what Doc Rivers called Milwaukee's worst game of the season. The matchup favored the Bucks again to start Sunday's game, with Towns scoring just five points in the first quarter.
But by halftime, Towns had 18 points. He benched Antetokounmpo and continued the drive with Bobby Portis taking over defensive duties. Brunson contributed just four points in that frame, but the Knicks didn't need another 23-point burst. At intermission, they still had a 13-point lead.
In his third start, he went on a 17-3 run to help close out the game. That allowed them to survive with Brunson back in the locker room, and upon his return, he poured his latest gem into the final basket.
This time, the Knicks were unable to build a double-digit lead against teams that could potentially contend when the calendar switched to May and June. This time, there were no boos against those teams from their home court.
In one game, this seemed a little closer to normal. Brunson exited the game with more than five minutes remaining in the fourth inning, the injury scare faded, chants of “MVP” echoed through the Garden and the Knicks, and the atmosphere finally felt like it was when they won nine straight.
