Jalen Brunson torches Bucks, leads Knicks to victory in possible playoff preview
MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo held in his frustrations, but the entire FiServ Forum knew an angry two-time Most Valuable Player when they saw one.
The Bucks double-teamed Jalen Brunson, who’d erupted for yet another high-scoring night in Cream City, and Brunson got off the ball with the quickness, finding Donte DiVincenzo wide-open at the top of the key.
Antetokounmpo was in the paint defending Mitchell Robinson when the ball found DiVincenzo. He made a bee-line from under the basket past the foul line to contest DiVincenzo’s open look.
And when the ball ripped through the net to punctuate yet another Knicks second-half comeback and put New York up 13 points four minutes into the final period, Antetokounmpo swung his arms in equal parts disbelief and discontent.
Disbelief that a Knicks team that lost four of its last five games before walking into the Forum came back from an 11-point halftime deficit to secure a 122-109 victory over a Bucks team previously owning a 3-1 season series record.
Discontent with the elephant parading about the room: The Bucks can’t guard a common cold, let alone an all-world scorer the likes of which the Knicks employ.
Class was in session in front of the sellout crowd on Sunday, and Damian Lillard was the student of the day in this week’s Brunson masterclass.
The Knicks’ first-time All-Star guard scored 43 points on 16-of-32 shooting from the field to secure a pivotal victory over a potential Eastern Conference playoff opponent.
And not just any playoff opponent: The Knicks’ victory over the Bucks moves them just one game behind Milwaukee in the East standings.
The Knicks are now tied with the Orlando Magic for third in the Eastern Conference, though the Magic hold the tiebreaker having won the season series, 3-1.
And if the Knicks are able to take hold of the third seed — or even better, supplant the Bucks for second — it means a likely second-round playoff matchup against the same team they defeated on Sunday.
The team the Knicks defeated on Sunday cannot guard the point of attack.
Brunson entered Sunday having scored 36 or more points in three of the four matchups against the Bucks this season. His 43 points against on Sunday fell two shy of the 45 he scored in a Nov. 3 loss on the same hardwood floors.
Brunson is averaging 37.2 points per game against Milwaukee this season, an all-world show-up of Lillard, whom the Bucks uprooted their defensive identity for during the offseason in the Jrue Holiday trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lillard also secured the All-Star starting nod over Brunson on the fan vote despite Brunson earning more votes among both media and his peers.
On Sunday, Brunson made it clear who the All-Star starter should be in the years to come.
And after scoring 17 of the Knicks’ first 25 points, the Bucks started mixing up their coverages, attempting to trap the Knicks star at different junctures of the game.
The defense forced the ball out of Brunson’s hands, but it oftentimes found its way to DiVincenzo, who hit eight 3s against his former team for 26 points.
Lillard scored 23 points but shot just 4 of 11 from the field and 1 of 7 from downtown, doing his damage at the free-throw line, where he converted on 14 of his 15 attempts.
Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, and 15 rebounds and eight assists.
No play, however, was more telling than the one leaving the Greek Freak publicly frustrated with his team’s defense.
And with the Knicks handing the Bucks their fourth loss in a row and sixth defeat in their last seven games, there’s good reason for Antetokounmpo to be upset.
His team can’t guard the point of attack, and Brunson is the head of a Knicks snake that just drew blood in Milwaukee.
