Game Thread: New York Knicks vs Milwaukee Bucks 7:30 pm 1/4/2017 [Game#35]

NEW YORK -- The defensively challenged New York Knicks will face a tough test when the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

The Knicks (16-18) have lost five straight in which they have allowed over 100 points in each game. They have the fifth-worst defensive rating in the league. Opponents are shooting 45 percent against New York, including .354 percent from beyond the arc.

The Knicks have lost 10 games by 11 points or more.

Adding to their worries, New York could be without second-year forward Kristaps Porzingis, whose status is uncertain due to an Achilles injury that has kept him out of the past two games.

In the Knicks' 115-103 loss at home to Orlando on Monday, the Magic tied their season high with 15 made 3-pointers. Three players scored at least 20 points and Nikola Vucevic and Elfrid Payton came off the bench to record their 17th and third double-doubles, respectively, this season. Vucevic scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Payton contributed 13 points and a career high-tying 14 assists.

"We have to find someone to play defense," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We have to have better pride. When you give a team three or four straight 3-pointers right off the start, you give them hope.

"We didn't have enough fight to let them (Orlando) even take the shots. We might be good enough defensively. We might have to figure out ways to trap. Some of it is closeouts. Our guys were scrambling and we didn't get out to them."

The Bucks (17-16) feature the league's top offense when it comes to points in the paint and a rising star in 23-year-old shooting guard Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo recorded his seventh straight game with 20-plus points, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists in Milwaukee's 98-94 win over Oklahoma City on Monday. He finished the game with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

His current streak is now the second-longest in franchise history (Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, 13 from Nov. 11-Dec. 6, 1972). Antetokounmpo also extended his career-best streak of games with 20-plus points to 12 and tallied his 15th double-double.

"You look at what he does on a consistent basis, that's what stars are measured on," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "Giannis isn't just about scoring the ball. He's able to make plays -- he makes winning plays -- and that's what stars do in this league. So for what he's done here, from the beginning of the season, you can see his confidence is growing."

Like his team, New York's leading scorer, Carmelo Anthony, is also in a slump. In the five-game losing streak, Anthony is shooting just .361 percent from the floor. He has contributed only two double-doubles this season, compared to 22 last season.

"We have to get back to the gym, back to the basics and try to find some practice time," Anthony said as a possible solution to the team's defensive struggles. "We have to go back to the drawing board and get some reps up."

The two squads meet again on Friday in Milwaukee.

(cbssports.com)

Thanks for the nice Game Thread Rady .... Its time for a Knicks home win after our previous home loss to a 16-20 Orlando Magic team.
The Bucks are on a 2 gm winning streak plus won 6 of their last 10 gms.
The Bucks star player Giannis Antetokounmpo n Parker are on a roll shooting 53% and 50% FG percentage.
Coach Jason Kidd 17-16 record has the Bucks running a great uptempo offense and playing a tight defense this season.

Coach Horn might put Lance Thomas in the starter lineup again .. bad decision! we won 2 gms out of last 10 gms.
Lance Thomas performance and talent this season has dropped tremendously down to the point of being the 15th man in a rotation .. just poor poor poor.
Coach Horn offensive system has been individual ISO-ball with 80% of the shots being taking from the perimeter.
Coach Horn defensive system is so poor n weak im ready to call the National-Guards as early as the 2nd quarter.
Has coach Horn lost touch with the starter lineup? Because our starter lineup players loss 98% of our games this season.

This is the NBA so anything can happen but w/o KP I think the Bucks run over the Knicks at MSG.

I posted back when they had the 5th seed that they were lucky to be above .500 having a -2 negative pt. differential and it caught up with them. They worked on defense the last practice but I think Horn had it right I don't think they're good enough. I hope the practice solved their problems and they prove me wrong but I think PJ has to make some moves here to address the problem.

Porzingis out for tonight's game.

Tonight just watch if we get any help defense in the paint, when guys get beat off the dribble.

Kuz with a 3 pointer from the corner


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Game Thread: New York Knicks vs Milwaukee Bucks 7:30 pm 1/4/2016 [Game#35]

Lee with a similar shot for the fifth team three pointer


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Kuz already with 11 points, love the hustle he puts in the paint, I hope we keep him


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Just found the game on the radio I'm close to MIL pull it out Knicks

Replay gonna screw us 8.4 left up by 1

Beaten by a buzzer beater um um um 16 point comeback

Just heard the radio call sounded like a long fade away from the top of key Yannis is special but Knicks perimeter defense is awful as always...losing streak at 6

Checking into tix will try to make it up to MIL for Friday's game

Like I always saw.... the Knicks play 82 road games. It's really amazing, even vs MIL the refs give almost every 50/50 call to the Bucks. Did they change the rule to 5 seconds in the paint? The last possession when refs took ball away from NY was classic. What can you do?

31-12 FT disparity.... 13-2 FT disparity in the 4th Q....

I don't think Rose scored in the 4th.... Melo
might've had 2 buckets but had none the final 4 minutes.

knicks had a 14 point lead to start 4th and lost it quickly. Still, NY had the ball, up 1, with 8 seconds left.... no timeout.... inbounds goes to Rose, MIL slaps it off his leg.... called NY ball.... overturned. MIL sinks a buzzer beater.

2-9 last 11 and now we've seen a win turn into a loss b/c of a bad Rose turnover....

this was a classic case of MIL young legs taking it to the older, ailing NYK.

same record as last year now....

Heartbreaker!!!! The boys played their asses off but the refs decided this at the end, Mafra can tell you if all those freebies took at the end were fair. They also went cold at the end at the worst time not making a bucket in the last 2 mins. but I thought we iced it when CLee got possession in the last 9 seconds.

Got to put this game behind us and take the positives out of it, they played hard and showed pride narrowly losing without KP in the lineup.

Does it get any worse for us poor sap NYK fans? We cannot even throw an inbounds pass to win the game. Throw it in, catch it, they foul us, sink FTs and you win.

tiger0330 said:

Heartbreaker!!!! The boys played their asses off but the refs decided this at the end, Mafra can tell you if all those freebies took at the end were fair. They also went cold at the end at the worst time not making a bucket in the last 2 mins. but I thought we iced it when CLee got possession in the last 9 seconds.

Got to put this game behind us and take the positives out of it, they played hard and showed pride narrowly losing without KP in the lineup.

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13-0 FT disparity the final 6 or so minutes in the 4th? Come one.... you can watch every NBA game the rest of the year, and you want see another home team disrespected with that sort of officiating. Did the refs call 1 3-second on MIl? They camped in the paint.

For a ref crew quick to call touch, reach fouls on NY in the 4th, you would expect consistently.... How a reach in wasn't called on MIl when ball was inbounded you Rose? Refs are expecting to blow a whistle.... amazing.

Now we're back to "a good loss, we have something to build on" type mentality in post game pressers. Disgusting.

jimkcchief88 said:

Just heard the radio call sounded like a long fade away from the top of key Yannis is special but Knicks perimeter defense is awful as always...losing streak at 6

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LT defended it and was right up in his grill but a guy like that is going to get his shot off. Needed to double him or deny him the ball.

mafra said:

Now we're back to "a good loss, we have something to build on" type mentality in post game pressers. Disgusting.

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Come on Mafra when everyone was expecting a blowout w/o KP and to play like they did I think you have to take positives out of the game, I know I did. If they can play like this consistently with KP in the lineup we may be the team we were before that Xmas game against the Celts.