Bucks’ win streak ended by persistent Knicks in Christmas opener

Jalen Brunson scored 38 points for the host New York Knicks, who snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Milwaukee Bucks with a 129-122 win on Monday, December 25 (Tuesday, December 26, Manila time).

The win was the first for the Knicks against the Bucks since a 113-98 victory in November 2021.

Julius Randle (24 points, 9 rebounds) flirted with a double-double, while RJ Barrett scored 21 points and Immanuel Quickley had 20 points off the bench for the Knicks, who had four players score 20 points on Christmas Day for the second time in franchise history and the first time since 1963.

Isaiah Hartenstein scored 11 points and Josh Hart added 10 points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (32 points, 13 rebounds) had a double-double for the Bucks, whose seven-game winning streak ended. Damian Lillard also had 32 points while Khris Middleton finished with 24 points. Brook Lopez (14 points) and Bobby Portis (12 points) also got into double figures.

The Knicks improved to 24-32 all-time on Christmas while the Bucks fell to 5-5 on the holiday.

The Bucks held a quartet of leads in the first quarter before the Knicks went ahead for good by mounting a 22-11 run. Quickley’s three-pointer gave New York its first double-digit lead at 36-24 before Lillard closed out the scoring with his first three-pointer.

The Knicks led by as many as 13 in the second and the Bucks got within 5 points twice before Brunson and Randle hit three-pointers on consecutive trips to give New York a 62-51 halftime lead.

The Bucks mounted a 9-0 run and cut the Knicks’ lead to 77-73 on Pat Connaughton’s three-pointer with 5:28 left in the third. Hart scored his first 8 points during a quarter-ending 21-14 run that gave New York a 98-87 lead.

The Knicks led by as many as 16 in the fourth before the Bucks ended the game on a 19-10 run. Milwaukee got within 6 points three times, but New York responded with points on each of its subsequent trips. – Rappler.com