OG Anunoby takes over in fourth quarter as Knicks defeat Bucks, 116-107

Without their top three point guards, some unlikely names, and OG Anunoby‘s 31 points, lifted the Knicks to a 116-107 win over the Bucks in Milwaukee.

The Knicks have swept the season series from the Bucks, a potential first-round opponent.

Here are the takeaways…

-With Miles McBride (groin) and Cam Payne (ankle) out, coach Tom Thibodeau went with veteran Delon Wright as the starting point guard. Wright, the 10-year vet, was in the lineup mostly for his defensive prowess, and he showed it early on. The Bucks were running on the fast break with Wright stuck defending Kyle Kuzma and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Wright made the savvy move to anticipate the pass from Kuzma and deflected it to himself.

Wright scored 10 of the Knicks’ 25 first-quarter points. In 30 minutes, Wright scored 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting (2 of 5 from three) while dishing four assists, coming down with three rebounds and coming away with a steal.

–Tyler Kolek saw extended minutes in Wednesday’s loss after Payne left with his ankle sprain, and he would tell you he needs to be more confident and aggressive when he’s the point guard on the court, and he did Friday. Playing in the same arena he played in while with Marquette, Kolek made the right reads on breaks, and held his own defensively.

The rookie scored five points on 2-for-4 shooting (1 of 2 from three) while dishing five assists and not turning the ball over in 17 minutes. He was a game-high plus-18 on the floor.

-Turnovers were a bit part of this one. The Knicks scored 16 points off of 10 Bucks turnovers in the first half. Milwaukee took care of it better in the second, and that helped them cut the Knicks’ 14-point halftime lead to three midway through the third, as the Knicks could not buy a bucket. But then Josh Hart took over, being the aggressor and pushing the pace, getting to the line three times in New York’s 12-1 run to get their lead back into double digits.

Milwaukee had 16 total turnovers and New York scored 26 points off of them. The Knicks had eight, three in the second half. The Knicks also outrebounded the Bucks, 44-32, including on the offensive glass, 14-3.

-With the game in single digits in the fourth, the Knicks got a lift from an unexpected source. Landry Shamet made two huge threes to push the Knicks’ lead to 16. Anunoby made two threes of his own in the fourth. Entering the final frame, the Knicks were 0-for-9 from three.

Shamet scored 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting (3 of 5 from three) off the bench.

–Karl-Anthony Towns picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter, and his third midway through the second. That limited the All-Star to just eight first-half points. It wasn’t the best shooting night for Towns, who scored just 14 points on 6 of 16 shooting.

With Towns on the bench, Mitchell Robinson saw more playing time in the first half, scoring two points and coming down with 10 boards in his 14 minutes of play. The big man finished with two points, 10 rebounds, an assist and a steal in his 18 minutes.

–Damian Lillard (blood clot) is undergoing treatment, which took out a lot of firepower from the Bucks’ offense, but Kuzma took on that responsibility. He scored Milwaukee’s first six points, getting to the basket at will. But after his outburst to start, the Knicks held Kuzma to 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting. Antetokounmpo, however, would get into spurts where he was unstoppable, muscling his way to the basket. Whenever the Bucks saw the Knicks’ lead get big, Giannis was there to get the buckets they needed.

Antetokounmpo finished with a team-high 30 points on 11 of 17 shooting. Ryan Rollins had a career-high 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 3 of 4 from three.

-Anunoby scored 20-plus points in 10 of his last 13 games entering Friday but didn’t get going in this one until the fourth quarter when he scored 20 of his 31 points. Overall, Anunoby was not efficient, he shot 9 of 21 (3 of 10 from three), but he did when it mattered most.

–Mikal Bridges was the aggressor on offense in the first half. He attempted 15 shots, the second most in a half for him this season, but Bridges took a backseat in the second half to Hart, Towns and Anunoby. He finished with 26 points on 12 of 24 shooting with five assists and two steals.

You could tell some of the Knicks players were unfamiliar playing with each other. Injuries and new floor combinations led to some early Knicks turnovers that allowed the Bucks to get back into the game in the first quarter, but they overcame the mishaps thanks to strong play

-Hart was on triple-double watch. He finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. He also added two steals and a block.

Game MVP: OG Anunoby

This was a team win, but Anunoby took over in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks pull away.

Highlights

What’s next

The Knicks return home to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday evening. Tip is set for 6 p.m. at The Garden.

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