Effort Not There as Knicks Fall To Bucks

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Monday, February 3^rd, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Post Game Recap

The Knicks started to throw away all the positive vibes they had built in the middle of their home stand with a loss to the Miami Heat Saturday; tonight they finished destroying those vibes with a terrible loss to the lowly Bucks. It was a terrible loss for the Knicks tonight as the Bucks are one of the only teams in the NBA worse off than the Knicks currently. The Bucks were without arguably their best player tonight in O.J. Mayo and were still able to beat the Knicks tonight. A big reason the Bucks were able to hang with the Knicks tonight is because they kept fighting and the Knicks never put them away; as the Knicks tend to do they played down to their opponent and suffered for it. The loss tonight makes it two in a row for the Knicks and ends their seven-game winning streak against the Bucks. Things won’t get any easier for the Knicks as their next game is Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Player of the Game: J.R. Smith

 

Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports

Smith was moved back to his regular spot off as the sixth man and he continued his strong play. Smith scored a season-high 30 points (9-17 FG, 6-11 3pt, 6-6 FT) as he looks as comfortable as he has at any point during the season. Smith was single handedly keeping the Knicks in the game at points tonight as the offense never really got going. Smith also added seven rebounds and three assists on the night to round out his stat line. Smith finally looks like he is ready to be the second scoring option the Knicks have been craving all season, just someone else now needs to step up behind him and Carmelo Anthony.

-Positives

Knicks Pull Out Double OT Victory Over Bucks

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Wednesday, December 18^th, 2013

New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Post Game Recap

The Knicks made it difficult on themselves but they were able to come away from Milwaukee with a 107-101 double overtime victory over the Bucks. It was a hard fought, tough game as both teams did not put on the nicest of performances for fans to watch. Tyson Chandler made is anticipated return to the court tonight and was a big reason the Knicks were able to come away with a victory. It was a struggle but the Knicks were able to get timely baskets when they needed them and important stops when it came down to it. A lot of players played big minutes but the Knicks will get some much needed days of rest with their next game not being until noon Saturday at Madison Square Garden against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Player of the Game: Tyson Chandler

Morry Gash/AP Photo

In his return to the lineup since being injured November 5^th Chandler showed the impact he can have on the game. Chandler was forced into a lot more minutes than head coach Mike Woodson had hoped with the game going into overtime and not having Amar’e Stoudemire or Kenyon Martin, but he gutted it out for the team because he knew they needed him out there. Chandler’s presence on the court was noticeable right from the start as he controlled the middle as well as anyone could have expected with him not playing for six weeks. On the night Chandler finished with nine points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks. Chandler had a big impact in the overtime periods getting multiple blocks and intimidating the Bucks into tougher shots. Chandler looked to be suffering from cramps late in the overtime periods but was able to give the Knicks everything he could. His return to the lineup will give the Knicks a must needed boost.

-Positives

Knicks Take Season Opener In Sloppy Game

Wednesday, October 30^th, 2013

Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks

Post Game Recap

It was a tale of two halves for the Knicks tonight as they were able to send the fans home happy opening night with an ugly 90-83 win over the Bucks. The Knicks put on a Jekyll and Hyde performance for the ages as they held as much as a 26 point lead in the first half but struggled to keep up the intensity in the second half as the Bucks came storming back. It was not pretty but in the end the Knicks were able to get a victory to start the season and will have a quick turnaround as they will fly to Chicago to play the Bulls Halloween night at 8 PM ET.

Player of the Game: Tyson Chandler

Jim McIsaac/Newsday

Chandler was a huge difference maker on both sides of the court tonight for the Knicks. He thoroughly outplayed Bucks starting center Larry Sanders all night as Sanders was in foul trouble, playing only 12 minutes and recording five fouls. Chandler anchored the Knicks defense tonight as he challenged shots and made life difficult for the Bucks in the paint. He also added five blocks and three steals to the stat sheet. Chandler also made an impact on the offensive end with highlight put back dunks while showing off his new jump shot, knocking down one of his two attempts from 15-plus feet. Chandler would not let his team lose tonight and was a part of all the good things the Knicks did tonight. Chandler also had the second highest +/- tonight on the team with a +18.

-Positives

Huge Second Half Pushes Knicks Past Bucks

AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Friday, April 5^th, 2013

Post Game Recap

Final Score: Milwaukee Bucks: 83 New York Knicks: 101

The Knicks were honoring the 40^th anniversary of the 1972-1973 championship winning team and the current Knicks put on an amazing performance in the third quarter to push them past the Bucks tonight at Madison Square Garden.  The win pushed the Knicks NBA high winning streak to 11 games, the longest since the 1993-1994 team that made a run to the NBA finals.  The Knicks magic number to clinch the Atlantic Division is now sitting at two, as the Nets sit six games behind the Knicks with seven to play. They also currently hold a 1 ½ game lead over the Pacers for the coveted second seed in the Eastern Conference.  The Knicks will now have a day off before heading into Oklahoma City Sunday night and put their 11-game winning streak on the line. 

  

-Positives

• The third quarter for the Knicks tonight was utterly dominating and they put away the Bucks during this time.  After a lackluster first half in which the Knicks struggled and scored only 36 points and trailed the Bucks by nine, they came out with a different mindset and approach in the third quarter after watching the ceremony for the 1972-1973 championship team.  The Knicks got on track from deep, knocking down eight three points in the third after making only one of their 12 attempts in the first half.  This overwhelmed the Bucks, who went into halftime with a nine point lead to heading into the fourth quarter down 12, punctuated with a heave at the third quarter buzzer by Jason Kidd that found the bottom of the net.

• Carmelo Anthony went off yet again for the Knicks, becoming the first player since his idol Bernard King in 1984-1985 to score 40+ points in three consecutive games.  Tonight he ended the night with 41, going 17 of 28 from the field, three of seven from the three point line and a perfect four of four from the charity stripe.  Anthony put on a show in the third quarter, going seven of nine from the field and two of three from deep for 18 points as the Knicks pulled away from the Bucks. Anthony has scored an unprecedented 131 points in his last three games and is doing it efficiently, shooting 64.2 percent and going 58 out of 81 from the field.  In tonight’s game another impressive stat for Anthony was the 14 rebounds, a game high.  With the Knicks lacking any big men available outside of Tyson Chandler, Anthony made sure he helped on the glass and put on a dominant performance.

• J.R. Smith got back on his efficiency swing tonight, playing sidekick to Anthony and scoring 30 points in the game.  Smith went 11 of 22 from the field, including a very good five of 11 from the three point line and three of four from the charity stripe.  Smith also had a big third quarter to go along with Anthony, scoring 12 points of his own coming out of halftime.  Smith was monkey see, monkey do with Anthony in the scoring department but also in the rebounding one as well, as Smith grabbed 10 rebounds of his own to lend a helping hand to the shorthanded Knicks frontcourt.

• It was an impressive night for the Knicks on the glass, who have been a lower echelon rebounding team all season.  Tonight they outrebounded the Bucks 50-40, even more impressive by the fact that the Knicks were without Kenyon Martin tonight and had Chandler as the only big man available.  The strong performances on the glass by Anthony and Smith really helped the short-handed Knicks tonight who put on a dominant performance in the second half yet again en route to another victory.

• The effort on the boards combined with the effort on the defensive end is what kept the Knicks in the game before the offense came around in the second half.  On the night the Knicks held the Bucks to 38.2 percent shooting on 29 of 76 from the field.  The Knicks made it difficult on the Bucks all night, as they held them to 21 points or less in every quarter but the second.  The Knicks outscored the Bucks 32-26 in the paint also, another telling stat into just how difficult the Knicks made it on the Bucks to score tonight.

-Negatives

• In such a dominant performance there were not many things that the Knicks did poorly tonight.  The only negatives that stick out is their offensive performance in the first half, as the Knicks struggled with their shot and could not mount any type of offensive attack.  They have to avoid that kind of start come playoff time because there are not many teams they will be able to keep up with scoring only 36 points in a half.  One reason for the halftime deficit was the inability to slow the Bucks down from the perimeter, as Brandon Jennings and J.J. Redick lit the Knicks up from the perimeter, combining for nine of 17 from the three point line.  The Bucks shot an impressive 12 of 30 from the three point line on the night, the only negative defensively for the Knicks on the night.