Bucks 110, Knicks 105: Veterans spark change in defense, Lopez blocks 8 shots
The Milwaukee Bucks won their first In-Season Tournament game by outlasting the New York Knicks 110-105 Friday at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks improved to 3-2 on the season while the Knicks fell to 2-4.
Damian Lillard led the Bucks with 30 points, including scoring eight of the team's last nine points in the final 63 seconds. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Brook Lopez had 13 points and seven blocks.
The Bucks were also keyed off the bench by the three-point shooting of MarJon Beauchamp (14 points) and Jae Crowder (13 points) as the two reserves combined to make 7 three-pointers.
The Knicks were led by point guard Jalen Brunson, whose 45-point effort was not enough to pull out a victory.
Bucks veterans spark change in defense after meeting with Griffin
Even though it was a small sample size of four games, the Bucks came into Friday night’s game struggling mightily in an area of defense they had traditionally been great at – defending the rim. Coming into the game against the Knicks, the Bucks were dead last in the league at defending within 5 feet as opponents made 75% of their shots in that range. They were also No. 30 in the league defending at 5-to-9 feet (56%).
And, while individual blocked shots are not always an indicator of a team’s success at protecting the rim, Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Brook Lopez had two blocked shots in the first four games. He led the NBA in blocks last year with 193.
BOX SCORE: Bucks 110, Knicks 105
Following a practice on Thursday, first-year Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said he met with some veterans to talk about the start of the season. On Friday before the game he said an adjustment was in the offing regarding how the 7-foot Lopez would be deployed defensively.
“It’s not rocket science – we need Brook’s size in the paint,” Griffin said.
And that is what the Knicks saw all game.
Lopez was back dropping to the rim and affecting shots – he had four blocks by halftime and finished with eight.
“Obviously I was very appreciative of that," Lopez said. "I think we have a lot of guys that are very coachable and to have a head coach who’s willing to listen in that regard and talk those things out, that’s great. There’s obviously going to be a lot of that this season.
"Going with the great things that coach Griffin brings to the table, our coaching staff brings to the table, and then the things a lot of experienced guys on this team are used to or know from being in this league for so long. It’s going to be a lot of give and take, feeling things out and that’s going to make us such a great team in April, May, June than we are even right now.”
The meeting was clearly important for Griffin and the veterans on the team, especially given the team's rough defensive start to the season. They came into the game last in the league in defensive rating, which is points allowed per 100 possession.
“Just sometimes as coaches are too smart for our own selves and so a couple players came to me – I won’t disclose – but they wanted Brook deeper in the drop and I was smart enough to listen to ‘em and it paid off tonight,” Griffin said.
Griffin joked it was a tough night to do with such good midrange shooting guards in New York's Jalen Brunson and Immanuel Quickley, but also allowed the Bucks to defend the three-point line better also. They were 28th defending the line through four games.
“I noticed a huge difference,” Lillard said of Lopez being back in the drop. “Just his presence in the paint. A lot of the shots that were taken in the paint were contested. I felt his length in the paint more than the previous games because you can tell where he’s comfortable, there’s where he navigates.
"We want to force contested twos, tough twos and tonight, especially Brunson, that’s his game. The in-between, fadeaways, pullups, floaters, so he was able to get it going in that range but I think a lot of teams that have been hurting us have been from three. We’ve been getting sucked in. Brook on the perimeter, guys at the rim sometimes and them throwing it out for threes. I felt like him being in the paint it changed how we defended tonight. I thought it was really helpful.”
Griffin said it wasn’t that tough to listen to his players and change his scheme because of his near-decade in the league as a player.
“The players are not always correct with their assessment, but I think it is wise to at least listen to them,” Griffin said. “And if it makes sense, we incorporate it. But we’re all pulling for the same thing, and that’s to win.”
Added Crowder: “I think it’s a two-way street. We’ve been listening to him all camp, this is the first time we came to him and he listened to us. It’s only going to build the trust. It’s only just going to keep building relationships between the player-coach. For him to have the open door and just have an ear for us and know that we’re trying to give our best and just trying to put ourselves in position to be our best, it’s great. It can only help us. It’ll help our relationship, it’ll help the growth of everything and it helps big fella be comfortable going back to what he does great. Not what he does good. He can do what coach want him to do good, but he does the other stuff great. He had eight blocks tonight, just protecting the rim, protecting everybody. It’s great.”
And with Giannis on New York all-star Julius Randle, it only exacerbated an interior scoring issue the Knicks were having through their first five games.
Randle came into the game shooting a team-worst 30.4% from less than five feet and was somehow worse the closer he got to the rim, shooting 12.5% in the restricted area (four feet and in). With Lopez and Antetokounmpo, Randle was just 5 for 20 from the field overall. He did his damage from the free throw line, going 5 for 9 to score 16 points.
The Bucks also went back to the rotation where Portis relieved Antetokounmpo and they had two bigs on the court much of the game.
There are still things the Bucks will no doubt look to clean up, as the Knicks out-scored the Bucks 42-28 in the paint and out-rebounded the Bucks 56-41 overall. But, the Bucks had by far their best game at protecting the rim thus far.
Damian Lillard heats up to lead Bucks
The Bucks’ star point guard came into Friday’s game having made just 29% of his threes and 40% of his shots overall, but over the last five seasons he’d had other slow starts – at least compared to his career marks of 43.9% from the floor and 37.2% from beyond the arc:
2022-23: 49.5% overall, 39.2% three-pointers2021-22: 37.1%, 26.2%2020-21: 42.9%, 35.4%2019-20: 44.4%, 32.6%2018-19: 49.1%, 38.6%
Against the Knicks though, it appeared as if he started to thaw.
Lillard was 4 for 7 from behind the three-point line, including a massive three coming out of a timeout with 1 minute, 3 seconds left that gave the Bucks a 104-103 lead. He then added a three-point play and two more free throws to finish with 30 points. He was 7 for 15 from the floor.
Bucks get a Beauchamp bump
The confidence of MarJon Beauchamp in knocking down consecutive wing three-pointers on catch-and-shoot opportunities in the second quarter was evident. The second-year player did miss his next couple chances, but those two makes were huge in keying a 12-2 run that helped the Bucks flip the scoreboard.
Beauchamp added another in the third quarter to help the Bucks maintain a double-digit lead.
Beauchamp came into the game making an impressive 50% of his threes (4 for 8) and he was 4 for 6 vs. the Knicks.
“I was just happy my teammates trusted me,” Beauchamp said. “I’ve been working extra work, just trying to build my confidence because I know I’m a good shooter. Just gotta put in the work, you just gotta believe, stick to my mechanics and let it fly.”
Even after a strong summer, it looked like he would hesitate taking that shot at times in the preseason when sharing the court with the team’s primary scorers – but so far in the regular season Beauchamp has been unafraid to let it loose.
“His confidence is where it needs to be,” Crowder said. “He’s put in the work. You can only get confidence in the work you put into it, so he’s putting in the work when the lights are not on. I’ve come in the gym a few times at night, he’s in there. I just think it’s paying off.”
Did you notice?
Khris Middleton played his first, fourth-quarter minutes of the season by starting and closing the final frame. He played 21 minutes and scored 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting and handed out four assists. He also pulled down nine rebounds.
“It definitely felt great to be back out there for closing a game,” Middleton said. “Now we just gotta all get on the same page. Defensively I thought we were pretty good. They hit some tough shots. But offensively we have to figure out what we want to get to at the end of the game and figure out a way to execute it just a little bit better. We did enough to win.”
Bucks win first In-Season Tournament game
The Bucks will have three more pool play In-Season Tournament games following Friday night’s game, but an early victory gets them off to a strong start in pool play. Miami beat Washington in the other group play game on Friday.
“The court was a little different and they had trophies around the court,” Beauchamp said of the atmosphere. “It was very different. I know our guys wanted to win. We don’t want to miss Vegas. So we’re trying to win. I think the atmosphere was just a little different.”
Here is the remaining In-Season Tournament schedule for the Bucks.:
Friday, Nov. 17: Bucks at Hornets, 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 24: Bucks vs. Wizards, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 28: Bucks at Heat, 6:30 p.m. (TNT)
Five numbers
5 Positive point differential for the Bucks after one In-Season Tournament game. After head-to-head records, it is the first tiebreaker to advance to the knockout round.
Griffin: We just focus on the game. Every game is important (and) we just focus on winning that game and doing what it takes to win those games. If you do the right things consistently in every possession you give yourself a chance to sit pretty good.
7 Straight wins for the Bucks over the Knicks.
+10 and -5 Advantage in second chance points for the Knicks after one quarter. They pulled down 9 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Bucks 20-10 in the opening 12 minutes. But over the final three quarters the Bucks outscored them 8-3 on second-chance points.
2,400 Career three-pointers Lillard reached with his fourth made three-pointer of the game. He is currently No. 6 all-time in made threes, trailing former Bucks forward Kyle Korver (2,450).
500,000 Dollars the winning coach of the In-Season Tournament will receive, which equals the player payout. And, like the players, coaches will receive smaller payouts for their team finishing as the runner-up and advancing out of pool play.
Griffin: I just want to win. Obviously I’m not going to turn down any money but we’re all competitors and if there’s a trophy, we want to win it. The money is a good external incentive but we have some great character people in our locker room and just the competition itself is more than enough.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks 110, Knicks 105: Vets spark change in defense, Lopez blocks 8
