Game ID: 22300388
Milwaukee Bucks @ New York Knicks
Saturday, December 23, 2023 at 12:30 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 27 27 33 24 111MIL 36 26 38 30 130
MIL @ NYK ScoutingMIL @ NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NYK availability going into 12/15 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 2 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 11 since 11/18, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/05 after 2, 6 min since (31% of 21)
BACK Sims back 12/05 after 2, 14 min since (114% of 12)
NYK availability going into 12/16 · back-to-backOUT Robinson missed 3 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 12 since 11/18, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/05 after 2, 5 min since (23% of 21)
BACK Sims back 12/05 after 2, 15 min since (121% of 12)
NYK availability going into 12/18 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 4 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 13 since 11/18, out tonight
NEW Sims 12 to 19 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 5 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 14 since 11/18, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 31 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/23 · 2 days' restOUT Robinson missed 6 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 15 since 11/18, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 7 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 16 since 11/18, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 2 since 12/20, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 8 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 17 since 11/18, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 3 since 12/20, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 33 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 9 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT McBride missed 2 since 12/25, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 18 since 11/18, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 4 since 12/20, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 34 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/30 · back-to-backOUT Robinson missed 10 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT McBride missed 3 since 12/25, returns tonight: 18 min (85% of 21)
OUT Fournier missed 19 since 11/18, returns tonight: 17 min (135% of 13)
OUT Sims missed 5 since 12/20, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 32 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/16 · 2 days' restOUT Crowder missed 15 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Connaughton missed 6 since 11/30, returns tonight: 12 min (56% of 22)
NEW Beasley 29 to 37 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/17 · back-to-backOUT Crowder missed 16 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 12 min since (56% of 22)
NEW Beasley 29 to 36 min over the last 4
NEW Beauchamp 12 to 19 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/19 · 1 day's restOUT Beasley missed 2 since 12/16, returns tonight: 28 min (95% of 29)
OUT Crowder missed 17 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 15 min since (67% of 22)
NEW Beauchamp 12 to 18 min over the last 5
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 4
MIL availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 18 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 28 min since (95% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 16 min since (72% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 23 min over the last 4
MIL availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 19 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 28 min since (96% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 17 min since (78% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 20 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 29 min since (100% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 18 min since (82% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 21 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 26 min since (91% of 29)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 17 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 22 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 26 min since (88% of 29)
MIL availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Crowder missed 23 since 11/13, out tonight
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Randle at 26 a game. Without Robinson (6 straight). 2 days' rest. Milwaukee comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 133 a night and allowing 118, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 33 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 32 and Lillard at 31 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Crowder (19 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 33 free throws a game to New York's 27. Call it New York 121, Milwaukee 120, Milwaukee keeping it close.
12/15 @ PHX 139-122 — NYK notes
NYK won 139-122. NYK shot 60% (49 of 82) to PHX's 52%, 17 of 29 from three, and went to the line 28 times to PHX's 21 — 24 points from the stripe to their 17. Brunson led with 50 (17 of 23, 9 of 9 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Randle added 23, Barrett 21. The hinge was Q4, 42-23: NYK came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 17, and the lead reached 20. NYK trailed 63-68 at the half and won the second half 76-54. Hart was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
12/16 @ LAC 122-144 — NYK notes
NYK lost 122-144. NYK shot 47% (44 of 94) to LAC's 57%, 11 of 35 from three, and got to the line 26 times to LAC's 34. Brunson led with 22 (7 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Randle added 22, Barrett 18. Q1 was theirs, 33-35, but the other 3 periods went 109-89 against them. Barrett's -30 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/18 @ LAL 114-109 — NYK notes
NYK won 114-109. NYK shot 48% (42 of 88) to LAL's 42%, 10 of 30 from three, and went to the line 23 times to LAL's 13 — 20 points from the stripe to their 12. NYK turned it over 15 times to LAL's 10, and LAL turned those into 9 steals. The glass went 52-41 for them. Brunson led with 29 (10 of 21, 3 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Randle added 27, Quickley 20. The hinge was Q3, 33-22: NYK came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 10. NYK trailed 57-58 at the half and won the second half 57-51. Randle was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
12/20 @ BKN 121-102 — NYK notes
NYK won 121-102. NYK shot 46% (44 of 95) to BKN's 37%, 13 of 33 from three, and went to the line 25 times to BKN's 17 — 20 points from the stripe to their 13. Randle led with 26 (9 of 20, 0 of 4 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); DiVincenzo added 23, Quickley 19. The hinge was Q1, 32-20: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 25. Randle was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
12/23 vs MIL 111-130 — NYK notes
NYK lost 111-130. NYK shot 44% (41 of 93) to MIL's 53%, 9 of 29 from three. The glass went 41-53 against them. Brunson led with 36 (15 of 26, 3 of 5 from three); Randle added 26, Barrett 13. Q2 was theirs, 27-26, the deficit cut from 9 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 104-84 against them. Hart's -19 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/25 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 121, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Randle at 25 a game. Without Robinson (7 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 28 free throws a game; Lillard at 31 and Antetokounmpo at 25 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Crowder (20 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-8 a night and New York plus-1 and the defense, Milwaukee allowing 115 a night to New York's 121. Call it Milwaukee 121, New York 119, New York keeping it close.
12/27 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 113, shooting 53 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Holmgren at 19 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Randle at 25 a game. Without Robinson (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 113 a night to New York's 121 and the arc, OKC at 38 percent from three to New York's 33. Call it OKC 120, New York 115.
12/29 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 30 from three, 26 free throws a game; F. Wagner at 24 and Banchero at 22 a game. Without Fultz (22 straight), Ingles (6 straight), Isaac (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 118, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Randle at 26 a game. Without Robinson (9 straight), McBride (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 36 percent from three to Orlando's 30. Call it Orlando 115, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
12/30 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 113, shooting 52 percent and 42 from three, 19 free throws a game; Haliburton at 24 and Turner at 20 a game. Without Bru. Brown (3 straight), McConnell (2 straight), Sheppard (6 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 120, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Randle at 28 and Brunson at 27 a game. Without Robinson (10 straight), McBride (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 42 percent from three to New York's 33 and the line, where New York takes 26 free throws a game to Indiana's 19. Call it Indiana 122, New York 116.
12/16 vs DET 146-114 — MIL notes
MIL won 146-114. MIL shot 57% (50 of 88) to DET's 45%, 19 of 42 from three, and went to the line 32 times to DET's 26 — 27 points from the stripe to their 22. MIL turned it over 14 times to DET's 8, and DET turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 49-36 for them. Lillard led with 33 (11 of 22, 6 of 14 from three); Portis added 31, G. Antetokounmpo 22. The hinge was Q1, 43-20: from level to 23 ahead, and the lead reached 34. Connaughton was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
12/17 vs HOU 128-119 — MIL notes
MIL won 128-119. MIL shot 50% (45 of 90) to HOU's 53%, 13 of 36 from three, and went to the line 32 times to HOU's 21 — 25 points from the stripe to their 18. MIL turned it over 15 times to HOU's 9, and HOU turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 46-31 for them. Lillard led with 39 (11 of 19, 5 of 8 from three, 12 of 13 at the line); Antetokounmpo added 26, Middleton 20. The hinge was Q2, 38-32: a lead of 5 became 11. Connaughton was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/19 vs SAS 132-119 — MIL notes
MIL won 132-119. MIL shot 47% (50 of 106) to SAS's 48%, 18 of 49 from three. MIL turned it over 6 times to SAS's 16. Lillard led with 40 (14 of 22, 7 of 12 from three); Portis added 23, Middleton 17. The hinge was Q1, 44-26: from level to 18 ahead, and the lead reached 24. Lillard was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
12/21 vs ORL 118-114 — MIL notes
MIL won 118-114. MIL shot 42% (38 of 90) to ORL's 45%, 11 of 37 from three, and went to the line 35 times to ORL's 23 — 31 points from the stripe to their 16. MIL turned it over 13 times to ORL's 7. Antetokounmpo led with 37 (11 of 25, 0 of 3 from three, 15 of 19 at the line); Lillard added 24, Lopez 14. The hinge was Q2, 31-25: MIL came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 3, and the lead reached 15.
12/23 @ NYK 130-111 — MIL notes
MIL won 130-111. MIL shot 53% (48 of 91) to NYK's 44%, 16 of 32 from three. The glass went 53-41 for them. Antetokounmpo led with 28 (11 of 17, 6 of 8 at the line); Portis added 23, Middleton 20. The hinge was Q1, 36-27: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 22. Beasley was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
12/25 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 121, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Randle at 25 a game. Without Robinson (7 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 28 free throws a game; Lillard at 31 and Antetokounmpo at 25 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Crowder (20 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-8 a night and New York plus-1 and the defense, Milwaukee allowing 115 a night to New York's 121. Call it Milwaukee 121, New York 119, New York keeping it close.
12/27 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 119, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 28 free throws a game; Thomas at 22 and Bridges at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Simmons (23 straight), Walker IV (12 straight), Clowney (15 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 118, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Lillard at 31 and Antetokounmpo at 27 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Crowder (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-6 a night and Brooklyn minus-5. Call it Milwaukee 121, Brooklyn 117, Brooklyn keeping it close.
12/29 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; LeVert at 18 and Allen at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Mitchell (4 straight), Garland (6 straight), Eva. Mobley (10 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 129 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 28 and Lillard at 25 a game. Without Crowder (22 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Milwaukee 119, Cleveland 118, Cleveland keeping it close.
1/01 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 33 and Lillard at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Crowder (23 straight). 2 days' rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 24 and Turner at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Bru. Brown (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 27 free throws a game to Indiana's 18 and the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-4 a night and Indiana minus-3. Call it Milwaukee 124, Indiana 120, Indiana keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MILAJ A. Jackson Jr.
BL B. Lopez
BP B. Portis
CP C. Payne
DL D. Lillard
GA G. Antetokounmpo
KM K. Middleton
MB M. Beasley
MB M. Beauchamp
PC P. Connaughton
NYKCB C. Brown Jr.
DD D. DiVincenzo
DS D. Skapintsev
IH I. Hartenstein
IQ I. Quickley
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
JR J. Randle
MM M. McBride
QG Q. Grimes
RA R. Arcidiacono
RB R. Barrett
TG T. Gibson
MIL/NYK the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Bucks beat the Knicks again in a one-sided series, with the teams set to meet again on Christmas
NEW YORK -- — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, Bobby Portis added 23 points and 11 boards, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks 130-111 on Saturday, opening a two-game series with their seventh straight victory.
Khris Middleton scored 20 points for the Bucks, who beat the Knicks for the ninth straight time and will try to do it again Monday in front of a national TV audience as the leadoff game to the NBA's Christmas schedule.
“No, it’s not going to be easy, but you do the things that go into winning, you’ve got a good chance,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said.
A great chance, if the Bucks keep rolling the way they have against the Knicks this month.
The Knicks don't have much time to find answers in what's been a one-sided matchup, though they were a little more competitive than when the Bucks blew them out 146-122 on Dec. 5 in the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament.
“They’ve just seen us at different stages of the season, as far as who we are as a team. I think right now we’re at our best as far as this season goes,” Damian Lillard said.
It rarely felt particularly close, with the Bucks starting fast and maintaining a comfortable lead most of the way. They blew it open for good early in the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run that turned an 11-point lead into a 114-92 cushion on Portis' 3-pointer with 6:29 to play.
“They’ve got a lot of weapons, so you’ve got to fly around and there’s times where we did it and times where we didn’t do it as well as we should have,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But every aspect of the game we were a step behind.”
Milwaukee just missed having five 20-point scorers to open its lengthy holiday stay in New York. After the rematch Monday, the Bucks will play Wednesday in Brooklyn, with some players either bringing family or hoping to visit some to celebrate.
Lillard had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks, and Malik Beasley made five 3-pointers en route to his 19 points.
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points in another good game against Milwaukee, having poured in 45 in a Nov. 3 loss. Julius Randle added 26 points and seven rebounds as the Knicks had a two-game winning streak snapped.
These teams will have already met four times after the Christmas game, after their quarterfinal game in the In-Season Tournament was added to their four that were already scheduled.
The Bucks picked up right where they left off in that victory, when they shot 60% overall and 60.5% from 3-point range. Milwaukee went 5 for 7 behind the arc in the opening quarter, taking a 36-27 lead.
The Bucks extended that to 60-44 on Lillard's 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining in the half, but the Knicks closed with a 10-2 spurt to trim it to 62-54 when Brunson made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.