Knicks crush Bucks 113-98 after a historic comeback from 21 points down

This one has got to be one of the greatest comebacks in Knicks history. And against who? Against the defending champs on their very own territory. And as Alan Hahn mentioned in the post game show, it is the first time in Knicks history the team has overcome a 21 point deficit and record a double digit victory, (at least since they start tracking the play-by-play 24 years ago) as they stunned the Bucks 113-98.

The game started in the worst possible way for the Knicks, a first quarter of nightmare, shooting brick after brick while the Bucks, with an unleashed Grayson Allen, shot 50% from the field as well as from long distance. Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker combined 0-6 in the first act and as a team New York shot just 8-25 from the field.

The Knicks trailed by 19 at the end of the first and the Bucks’ lead extended to 21 points early in the second quarter. But Derrick Rose had other plans for the outcome of the contest. So he took the leadership role in his hands and pushed his team on a comeback that cut the lead to just 8 points at halftime. With 1:40 left in the third quarter the Knicks got their first lead of the game, 82-81 and from that moment they never trailed and never allowed the Bucks to tie it. In fact, they continued to build on the momentum so hard that they increased their lead to 22 with 2:33 left to play.

“It’s big. Especially when you lose two, it was big because it was the next game and the next game was against the champs. This could thrust us forward into the area we want to be in — consistency.”

– Derrick Rose

Julius Randle scored a game high 32 points and collected 12 rebounds while RJ Barrett finished with 20. Rose led the bench with 23 buckets, 8 boards and played one his best games in a Knick uniform. His plus- column at the end of the game said 31! The rest of the team finished in single digits.

The long distance shooting shivered. The Knicks shot just 10-40 from behind the arc unlike the Bucks who went 16-43. But it was the hustle in the paint that saved New York last night. Especially on the offensive side. The Knicks collected 20 offensive rebounds and scored 20 second-chance points frustrating the Bucks in the second half with their ability to regain possession after missing shots. They outscored them 54-28 in the paint and outrebound the champs 59-37. Even steals, the Knicks had 11 to just 4 for the Bucks.

Nerlens Noel was a clean-up machine collecting 13 rebounds in his second appearance of the season. He also scored 6 points, finished with a plus- 22 and alongside Mitchell Robinsonis forming a formidable duo.

“Me and Mitch do similar things but we do it different ways. So I bring what I bring — being aggressive on the pick-and-rolls, hedging out and getting guys uncomfortable, as well as protecting the rim. Mitch brings what he brings with his size and physicality.”

– Nerlens Noel

Obi Toppin finished with just with 6 points but he signaled the Knicks are not done at the end of the first quarter when he finalized a highlight one-handed alley-oop off Rose’s assist after the Knicks nearly turned the ball over.

Another key factor was Immanuel Quickley, who although finished with just 9 points, had some crucial moments late in the third. He tied the game at 80 dunking the ball with 2:25 on the clock, then on the next possession he assisted Barrett for a layup and finally drained a three pointer at the end of the act to give the Knicks a five point lead (88-83) following another three pointer previously made by Rose.

The Bucks played without Khris Middleton who tested positive for Covid-19 and Brook Lopez. They relied on Jrue Holiday who played only his third game of the season. The Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 25 points. The Greek Freak shot 7-17 from the field including 2-7 from long distance. Allen finished with 22 points and 14 of them were made in the first period. Holiday scored 10 points off the bench.

Don’t forget to check out the MSG broadcasdting recap brought to you by our very own, RunningJumper.

Up-next: The Knicks (6-3) return to the Garden on Sunday to host the Cleveland Cavaliers (6-4) from 7:00pm.