Bucks ride Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 38 to win over Knicks

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his 16th 30-point double-double of the season as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the New York Knicks, 123-108, to win their fourth consecutive home game on Friday night, January 28 (Saturday, January 29, Manila time).

Antetokounmpo amassed 38 points on 12-of-19 shooting plus 13 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Bucks to their fourth victory in the past five games overall. Jrue Holiday added 24 points and 10 assists, and Khris Middleton had 20 points.

The Bucks did not trail for the entirety of the game despite being outshot by New York 46.5% to 46.1%.

Evan Fournier paced the Knicks with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and RJ Barrett followed with 23 points. Quentin Grimes and Alec Burks were productive off the bench, tallying 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Julius Randle tallied 9 points and 11 rebounds.

The Knicks dropped three out of the four games in the season series against the Bucks.

New York trailed by 15 in the second quarter but was within double digits throughout the third. However, the Knicks’ hopes of coming back in the fourth quarter faded quickly as Milwaukee outscored New York 30-20 to close the game. A 15-6 run to begin the frame gave the Bucks a 14-point edge, and the Knicks never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

The Bucks went into halftime with a narrow 67-63 lead. A 21-10 run from New York over the final 5:28 of the half brought the visitors back in contention, and the Knicks shot 47.4% (9-of-19) from deep prior to halftime.

Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 17 first-half points, and Holiday had 14. Milwaukee was ferocious on the defensive end, collecting 9 steals before halftime. Barrett topped the Knicks with 13 points in the opening two quarters.

New York got within one with 3:40 left in the third, but the Bucks managed to push the lead back up to five heading into the final 12 minutes of action. – Rappler.com