New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks: The law of averages kicks in

The New York Knicks broke out of their shooting slump with a collective thumping of the Milwaukee Bucks,127-98. All five starters scored double-digits in an impressive showing for the offense.

Ball movement was crisp from the opening tip, as the Knicks tallied 33 assists while making 21 threes. The Bucks stayed close early thanks to hot shooting, but once New York’s three-point defense tightened up, the game was a wrap.

The Knicks scored 77 points in the first half and continued to build on a 20-point lead once the third quarter began. Karl-Anthony Towns got hot early in the fourth, which helped the starters score early rest en route to their 29-point victory.

New York hadn’t shot well since the All-Star break, but everyone snapped out of their doldrums at once. Let’s enjoy the victory by checking out the player recaps.

Everything came easy to Jalen Brunson in this game. His 22 points in the first quarter came off transition touches and isolation opportunities against mismatches. Brunson has been routinely double-teamed lately, so I’m sure he was excited to see so much solo coverage.

The Knicks already had an insurmountable lead once Brunson returned to the game in the second quarter. He spent the rest of the night facilitating offense and letting everyone else eat.

In the third quarter, OG Anunoby absolutely took over. Anunoby showed off his entire bag, hitting three-pointers, step-back jumpers, and drive-by dunks. It’s the first time OG’s looked like himself since he missed time before the break.

I’d give Mikal Bridges the timbs for Defensive Player of the Game, but OG was Mike Brown’s pick, and he earned it. His defense remains among the best in the league.

While I’d prefer more field goal attempts from Karl-Anthony Towns, I loved this performance from him. He spent the entire first half waiting for post touches against mismatched defenders. KAT never had to take opponents from the perimeter to the rack, and he looked much more comfortable as a result.

After playing patient, team-oriented basketball throughout the night, Towns took over to start the fourth quarter. He turned up his aggression and scored at will, finishing his night with a three-pointer after spending the rest of the game inside the arc.

When the ball is moving freely, Landry Shamet is almost guaranteed to have a good night. Whenever Shamet got open, the ball found him, and he connected on four three-pointers before the end of the first half.

Shamet’s second-half minutes were cut short; otherwise, he might have an even more impressive stat line.

With the team’s offense rolling, Mikal Bridges’ natural patience proved valuable. He never rushed a possession, playing everyone else into rhythm while he picked his spots to score easy buckets.

But more important than his offense, Bridges’ defense was excellent. He wouldn’t give an inch to the ball-handlers he defended, and recovered through screens as well as I’ve seen all season.

The way Milwaukee ignored Josh Hart on defense at the start of this game was disrespectful. Hart responded by making two of his first three shots from long range and scoring 10 points in the first quarter. He forced them to defend him.

Even though Hart cooled off after that, it’s important that he lets the shot fly. Defenders had to stay closer to him, and that opened the floor for everyone.

The Knicks have a brutally harsh schedule ahead of them. So, getting on track and winning this game feels especially important. They’ll need to be at the top of their game to come out of the next six games with a positive record.

But it’s a good time to run into this kind of test. The team has fresh legs and no excuses. If they make it through this gauntlet with success, then the home stretch will be much less daunting.

The Spurs are next, riding an 11-game win streak. There’s no bigger test in the NBA right now, so let's see how New York does and discuss it after. See you next time, Knicks fam!