 made their first six 3-pointers to open a big early lead that grew to 29 points.''Luckily we've got a group that is very professional, very motivated,'' coach Mike Budenholzer said. ''I think they take their work seriously, they take their routine, the process seriously, and I think it reflected coming off a big win and coming out and playing the way we did in the first quarter.'' Antetokounmpo had secured his triple-double by midway through the third quarter after playing just 23 minutes. It appeared for a while that he was going to be finished for the night at that point, but he was eventually called on for some fourth-quarter minutes.He took only 10 shots, making eight.''I don't look into stats,'' Antetokounmpo said. ''All I care about is that we came in here, we got the job done. Got another one tomorrow.'' Khris Middleton scored 23 points and Kyle Korver had 17 for the Bucks, who are playing without starters Wesley Matthews and Eric Bledsoe because of right leg injuries. They didn't miss them at all.It wasn't quite as easy as Milwaukee's 132-88 home victory in one of David Fizdale's final games as Knicks coach, but it was plenty good enough to increase the average victory margin for a team that came in leading the league at 12.8 points per game - a figure that would be the highest in NBA history if it stood until the end of the season.Julius Randle had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who lost for the second straight night. They were out it early after missing nine of their first 10 shots, though they did keep fighting hard enough to force the Bucks to bring Antetokounmpo and other starters back off the bench midway through the fourth after Milwaukee led by 25 through three quarters.''They went 6 for 6 from the 3-point line to start the game, which was our game plan, to make their guys take shots,'' Randle said. ''They did to start the game and then they cooled off. We didn't make shots to start the game, which just hurt us.'' Milwaukee put seven players in double figures in its second straight win after Dallas snapped its 18-game winning streak earlier this week. The Bucks bounced back from that by beating the Lakers 111-104.The Bucks led by 47 points in the first matchup against the Knicks and started this game poised to deliver another blowout. Donte DiVincenzo scored the first five points, consecutive 3-pointers by Brook Lopez made it 17-4, and Ersan Ilyasova's second 3-pointer made it 23-6 and forced the Knicks to call their second timeout in less than 4 1/2 minutes.TIP-INSBucks: With Matthews sitting for the first time this season, the Bucks used their seventh different starting lineup. ... Milwaukee beat New York for the fourth straight time.Knicks: Elfrid Payton replaced Frank Ntilikina as the starting point guard and had six points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals. ... Kevin Knox II had 19 points off the bench.LIFE IS GOODBudenholzer was a candidate for the Knicks coaching job following his successful run in Atlanta. The Knicks hired Fizdale instead, and Budenholzer doesn't wonder about what might have been.''No, I don't really think that way,'' the 2018-19 Coach of the Year said.''Life works out the way it's supposed to and just beyond happy with being in Milwaukee. Ton of respect for the Knicks and their organization here, but at the end of the day just very, very happy with Milwaukee and the team, the organization, the city. Just, I'm in a great place and I feel very, very fortunate.'' UP NEXTBucks: Host Indiana on Sunday.Knicks: Host Washington on Monday.---More NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Dec 21, 2019Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks saw an 18-game winning streak stopped Monday when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks.Three nights later, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks shined on a national stage against the Los Angeles Lakers by doing enough to overcome big nights by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.After beating the best team in the Western Conference, the Bucks face one of the worst teams in the league Saturday night when they visit the New York Knicks, who are playing their eighth game under interim coach Mike Miller.The Bucks head to New York with 25 wins in their first 29 games, matching the 1971-72 and 1973-74 teams for the best start in team history.Milwaukee rebounded from their 120-116 loss to the Mavericks by leading most of the way in a 111-104 win over the Lakers on Thursday. Antetokounmpo totaled 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while making 11 of 19 shots and hitting a career-high five 3-pointers.Antetokounmpo's latest big night was his 25th double-double and 17th game with at least 30 points, and it occurred after he scored 48 points on Monday."Our focus is to take it step by step, game by game, get better, improve as a team," Antetokounmpo said. "Our goal was to not lose two in a row, and that's what we did. It wasn't who we were playing, playing the Lakers, playing the Clippers, it doesn't really matter. We just look at ourselves. How can we improve?"Antetokounmpo's dominance has helped the Bucks win nine of the last 10 meetings with the Knicks. The one loss was a 138-136 overtime defeat in New York on Dec. 1, 2018, when the Bucks blew a 16-point lead.In Milwaukee's 132-88 home win on Dec. 2, former New York coach David Fizdale's penultimate game, Antetokounmpo totaled 29 and 15 rebounds. He has a double-double in his past six games against the Knicks, and the Bucks are 15-3 with him in the starting lineup against New York since 2013-14.New York is 3-4 since Miller replaced the fired Fizdale on Dec. 6 and has been competitive in most games since the coaching change.Friday was not one of those competitive nights, as the Knicks followed up an impressive 143-120 home win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday with a dud in Miami, losing 129-114 to the Heat.The Knicks are hoping to avoid another rough night after never leading and trailing by as many as 34 on Friday night when they allowed Miami to shoot 55.8 percent. It matched the first meeting with Milwaukee for New York's second-highest field-goal percentage allowed this season, only behind the 56.3 percent the Knicks allowed to Denver on Dec. 5 in Fizdale's final game.Bobby Portis led the Knicks with 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting and immediately turned his focus toward Milwaukee, especially with a 44-point loss still fresh in his mind."It's kind of hard not to remember it." Portis, said of the previous meeting with Milwaukee "They whipped our tails that night. We let that hurt till midnight, and we got over it. I feel like we're a new team now. We're balanced. Everybody knows their role." Regardless of roles, the Knicks are hoping rookie RJ Barrett resembles the player from Tuesday and not the one from Friday. Barrett scored a career-high 27 points against Atlanta but was held to two points on 1-of-10 shooting at Miami.--Field Level Media
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