Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points and Bobby Portis recorded a double-double off the bench to fuel the visiting Milwaukee Bucks to a 130-111 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday afternoon.
The Bucks led nearly wire-to-wire in the first game of a back-to-back set between the Eastern Conference rivals.
Portis collected 23 points and 11 rebounds while Antetokounmpo added seven rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks, who have won seven straight games. The teams are slated to play again in New York on Monday afternoon.
Khris Middleton scored 20 points and Malik Beasley and Damian Lillard each added 19 in the victory.
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points and Isaiah Hartenstein recorded 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who are 5-5 this month. Julius Randle had 26 points while RJ Barrett (13 points) and Donte DiVincenzo (11 points) also reached double-digit scoring.
The Knicks took their lone lead at 7-6 on Brunson’s 3-pointer with 9:10 left in the first quarter. Lillard responded with a 3-pointer and New York got within one point five more times before Milwaukee mounted a 15-4 run and took a 34-22 lead on Antetokounmpo’s tip-in with 2:32 left.
The Bucks led 36-27 after the first and allowed the Knicks to get within seven points four times before mounting a 15-6 run and taking a 60-44 lead with 2:35 left. Brunson scored eight points in a quarter-ending 10-2 run and pulled the hosts within 62-54 by hitting a 21-footer at the buzzer.
Antetokounmpo and Lillard each scored 10 points as the Bucks outscored the Knicks 38-33 in the third, when they led by as many as 18. Barrett’s jumper with 9:48 remaining in the fourth cut the Bucks’ lead to 103-92, but Milwaukee went on an 11-0 run while New York missed eight straight shots. The hosts got no closer than 16 the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media