Milwaukee ran New York out of the In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals, 146-122, behind 23-of-38 three-point shooting.
The Knicks continually found offense around the rim, but failed to contain the Bucks' firepower, bowing out of the inaugural single-elimination bracket and will now play at Boston on Friday night.
Here are some takeaways...
- Julius Randle had a monster outing, hitting his first nine shots and putting up 41 points, six boards and five assists on 14-19 shooting. Jalen Brunson had 24 points on an uncharacteristic 0-for-5 three-point shooting night while RJ Barrett totaled 23 points and eight rebounds.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for Milwaukee with 35 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists on 15-of-22 shooting. Damian Lillard added 28 points and seven dimes on 13 shots, while Malik Beasley went 6-for-10 from three for 18 points.
- One positive for the Knicks? 29-of-33 free-throw shooting.
- Both teams got off to strong starts, with both hitting early behind their stars. Giannis put up a quick 10 points in under six minutes on 5-of-6 attempts despite landing on Randle's foot and hurting his ankle early.
- Randle connected from the mid range and created out of the paint from the tip, totaling 12 points and two assists on 6-6 shooting in the first quarter. Unfortunately, a side-stepping Antetokounmpo laying in an and-one over Isaiah Hartenstein with five seconds to go in the period gave the Bucks a 37-35 edge after one.
- Hart immediately made an impact, keeping up his strong play as of late. He broke out in transition, caused havoc defensively and found easy looks on cuts en route to a quick eight points.
- Still, the Bucks pulled ahead 60-52 midway through the second. They got a nine-point spark from Bobby Portis while forcing turnovers on the other end.
- Antetokounmpo got right back to work to close the first half, dominating the Knicks with his speed and strength en route to 16 at the break. But it was Randle stealing the shine, knocking all nine of his shots down for 25 points in the opening 24 minutes.
- It was mayhem heading into the half. Randle flew in for an offensive board, kicking out to Donte DiVincenzo for three, then Brunson stole the inbounds pass for an and-one finish. But Lillard responded with a stepback three in the final ticks of the period to give Milwaukee a 75-72 lead.
- The Bucks caught the Knicks slacking to start the third and hit them with a 14-6 run to start the quarter, leading 91-78 a little under midway through the period. New York looked unfocused defensively, and Brunson wasn't himself offensively, shooting 7-of-18 from the field and 0-for-5 from three.
- Things didn't improve for the Knicks. Antetokounmpo walked into a pull-up three, Randle finally started missing shots, and the Bucks led 112-96 going into the final frame behind a 17-for-25 shooting performance from downtown. The Knicks' second unit came in with a bang to start the fourth, going on a 7-0 run behind some strong defense and Hart hustle.
- Unfortunately, the three-point onslaught continued, as Beasley knocked down a couple in response, dancing as the last one gave his team a 15-point advantage. Milwaukee coasted from there, further hitting from deep, as the lead grew past 20.