Game ID: 22300401
Milwaukee Bucks @ New York Knicks
Monday, December 25, 2023 at 12:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 36 26 36 31 129MIL 27 24 36 35 122
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 12/16 · 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
NYK availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 11 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 6 since 12/20, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/30 after 3, 18 min since (85% of 21)
BACK Fournier back 12/30 after 19, 17 min since (135% of 13)
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 32 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
MIL availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 24 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 2 since 12/29, 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 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.
12/16 @ 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 129-122 — NYK notes
NYK won 129-122. NYK shot 54% (50 of 92) to MIL's 47%, 8 of 26 from three. Brunson led with 38 (15 of 28, 1 of 3 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Randle added 24, Barrett 21. The hinge was Q1, 36-27: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 16. Quickley was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
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.
1/01 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 128, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Randle at 28 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Robinson (11 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 26 free throws a game; Edwards at 32 and Gobert at 16 a game. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 111 a night to New York's 128 and the arc, Minnesota at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it Minnesota 116, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
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 122-129 — MIL notes
MIL lost 122-129. MIL shot 47% (45 of 95) to NYK's 54%, 13 of 42 from three. Antetokounmpo led with 32 (13 of 24, 5 of 9 at the line); Lillard added 32, Middleton 24. Q4 was theirs, 35-31, the deficit cut from 11 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 98-87 against them. Connaughton's -13 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
1/03 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 115, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Haliburton at 26 and Turner at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Bru. Brown (5 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 119, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 21 a game. Without Crowder (24 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Indiana 123, Milwaukee 121, Milwaukee 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
NYKDD D. DiVincenzo
IH I. Hartenstein
IQ I. Quickley
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
JR J. Randle
QG Q. Grimes
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
NEW YORK -- — The Bucks hadn't just been beating them, they were beating them easily.
So in front of a sold-out home crowd and a national TV audience, the New York Knicks used the Christmas stage to make their stand against Milwaukee.
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and the Knicks snapped Milwaukee's seven-game winning streak, ending their lengthy skid against the Bucks with a 129-122 victory Monday.
The Knicks had dropped nine straight meetings, including a 130-111 loss on Saturday in the opener of this two-game series. The Bucks had routed New York twice while rolling through their December schedule, but they haven't solved Brunson all season, and the point guard got plenty of help from his teammates this time.
“They’re a good team. We feel like we’re a good team as well, so just kind of taking that challenge, accepting that challenge that we hadn’t got them yet,” guard Immanuel Quickley said. “It had been a while, so this was a good one to get.”
Julius Randle added 24 points and nine rebounds, RJ Barrett bounced back from a poor game Saturday with 21 points and Quickley came off the bench for 20.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard each scored 32 points for the Bucks, who fell to 9-2 this month. Khris Middleton added 24.
The Bucks rang up 146 points against the Knicks in the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament on Dec. 5 and didn't cool off much Saturday. But they seemed short on energy Monday in the middle of an extended Christmas stay in New York, with still another game remaining in the city when they visit Brooklyn on Wednesday.
“We knew coming in everything that we were lined up for and it is what it is,” Lillard said. “We got the first one, we came in for this one, they got off to a good start, they played a great game and we just got outplayed.”
Milwaukee came in averaging 132.4 points in December but couldn’t even break 40 until there were less than four minutes remaining in the first half. The Bucks trailed by 16 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the game before a late flurry that made the score closer than the game felt.
“I thought they out-competed us today for the most part,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “I thought offensively we got some good looks, but we just couldn’t knock them down. And when you’re on the road, you get clean looks, you’ve got to knock them down.”
Brunson went 15 for 28 from the field, following up games of 45 and 36 points against the Bucks this season. Isaiah Hartenstein had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Josh Hart came off the bench for 10 points and nine rebounds.
Antetokounmpo had 13 rebounds and six assists, but the Bucks fell to 3-3 in their sixth straight Christmas appearance.
The overhead video board incorrectly listed his brother Thanasis as the starter when lineups were announced, but Giannis quickly reminded everyone who he is, slamming down a lob pass on the opening possession and then making a jumper on the next trip. But Brunson was the best player on the floor the remainder of the period, scoring 15 points to spark the Knicks to a 36-27 lead after one — the same lead the Bucks had Saturday.
“I just thought the energy level was back to where it needed to be,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Lillard tried to help the Bucks chip away at a 13-point deficit in the second but didn't get much help, with Middleton going 1 for 7 and Antetokounmpo 1 for 6. Randle's 3-pointer made it 62-51 at the break.
Milwaukee cut it to 77-73 midway through the third quarter, but Hart had a good burst of three straight Knicks baskets later in the period as New York pushed it back to 98-87 after three.