Knicks dominate Bucks as Jalen Brunson scores 44 points
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson gestures after scoring a three-point basket against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
After hearing the boos during Friday night’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City, the Knicks needed a hero on Sunday afternoon against the Bucks.
Jalen Brunson did everything but wear a cape for the “Kids Day” matinee at the Garden.
The point guard scored 23 of his 44 points in the first quarter and shook off a third-quarter injury scare to lead the Knicks to a redemptive 140-106 victory.
Brunson gave the home crowd some agita when he left the court and walked to the locker room after getting hit on a drive to the basket early in the third quarter. About six minutes of game action later, he returned and immediately checked back into the game.
Coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game that Brunson had a “stinger” in his right shoulder.
Brunson was cagey about exactly what happened and if he will be available on Monday night when the Knicks host the Pistons.
“I feel great,” he said.
Asked what the injury was, Brunson said, “You can ask the doctors about that, but felt good enough to go out there.”
What happened to cause the injury? “I got hit and went to the locker room,” he said. “Did some tests. Came back out.”
Brunson said the tests were “shoulder tests. Strength tests.”
As for his availability for Monday night’s game, he said reporters will have to wait until the injury report comes out Monday afternoon.
Thibodeau called Brunson’s return to the court “inspiring. I think a great leader unites and inspires. It could be a lot of different ways. I’m a big believer in it’s not so much what they say but more by what they do.”
Josh Hart, however, jokingly suggested there was another reason Brunson went to the locker room in the first place.
“He wanted to see the score of the Eagles game,” Hart said. “I told him next time he can just ask somebody and not go into the back.”
With the injury and the lopsided score — the Knicks led by as many as 27 in the third quarter to end the competitive portion of the game — Brunson played only 28:47, which should help before the second game of a back-to-back.
Brunson shot 16-for-26 from the field (5-for-10 on three-pointers) and added six assists and five rebounds. He reached 40 points for the 17th time as a Knick, tying Carmelo Anthony for third on the franchise list.
The Knicks led 85-65 when Brunson went to the locker room, built a 92-65 lead and were ahead 99-80 when he returned. He almost immediately hit a driving bank shot and a three-pointer and entered the fourth quarter with 37 points in 22:35.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Knicks (26-14), who had lost four of five after a nine-game winning streak. Cameron Payne had 18 points in 14:22 off the bench.
Hart had 11 points and 11 rebounds and OG Anunoby also scored 11.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who came in with a three-game winning streak. Damian Lillard added 22 points.
The Bucks (20-17) have one of the biggest stars in the game in Antetokounmpo, but they are not one of the top teams in the league by record.
So Sunday’s victory did not change that the Knicks are 0-5 against the top two teams in each conference in Cleveland, Boston, Oklahoma City and Houston. But it was a much-needed emphasis point that the Knicks at their best are very good.
For whatever reason, the Bucks are a better matchup for the Knicks, who torched Milwaukee, 116-94, on Nov. 8 at MSG.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers called that his team’s “single worst game of the year.”
If possible, the Bucks looked even worse on Sunday. Brunson and Towns were unstoppable.
Brunson outscored Antetokounmpo 23-13 in the first quarter as the Knicks took a 36-33 lead. They expanded it to as many as 16 in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 75-62 advantage as Towns scored 13 of his 18 first-half points. The game was over midway through the third quarter and both coaches emptied their benches in the fourth.
“We played with a sense of urgency,” Hart said.
Said Thibodeau: “I thought it was a good response. In all areas. I thought strong on both sides of the ball.
“[We] played with good pace, both in transition and in the halfcourt. I thought the rebounding was really good and sharing the ball was really good.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
