Antetokounmpo flirts with triple-double to power Bucks past Knicks

Khris Middleton scored 24 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 20 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds to lift the visiting Milwaukee Bucks to a 112-97 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday, December 12 (Monday, December 13, Manila time).

Antetokounmpo came one rebound shy of his first triple-double since March 15. The two-time Most Valuable Player was in on each of Milwaukee’s first 9 points, scoring the game’s first 4 then dishing assists to Middleton and Bobby Portis.

Portis recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who have won two in a row and 12 of their last 14 games.

Jrue Holiday had 13 points and 5 assists, while Grayson Allen added 12 points to the Bucks’ balanced attack. Rodney Hood and Pat Connaughton chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench. Hood finished a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the floor.

Middleton, scoring at least 20 points for a seventh consecutive game, shot 4-of-11 from three-point range. Portis knocked down 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Allen, Hood, and Connaughton each added 2 three-pointers.

Quentin Grimes made 7 three-pointers to finish with 27 points for the Knicks. Kevin Knox II drained 5 shots from beyond the arc to highlight his 18-point performance.

Derrick Rose also had 18 points for New York, which outscored Milwaukee from beyond the arc – going 17-of-49 to the Bucks’ 14-of-41.

However, the Bucks had a 46-30 advantage for points in the paint, thanks in part to locking down New York post presence Julius Randle. He finished with just 8 points on 2-of-9 shooting.

Milwaukee gave up just 18 made field goals from inside the three-point arc in total and held the Knicks to 15-of-23 shooting in the key. The Bucks went 23-of-33 in the paint.

The Bucks led by double digits for much of the way, pushing the advantage to as many as 21 points. – Rappler.com