In-season glory may be one of the top finds for the New York Knicks on this Black Friday.
New York has a chance to clinch a spot in the knockout round of the NBA Cup festivities on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, with the situation a winner-take-all matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s part of a busy Black Friday on MSG hardwood, which also hosts a collegiate matinee melee between the Illinois Fighting Illini and UConn Huskies in the afternoon.
The Knicks are back home after forming their first road winning streak of the season, showing thanks to the schedule makers with back-to-back wins in Brooklyn and Charlotte. In the latter, a 129-101 shellacking at Spectrum Center on Wednesday, Jalen Brunson scored 33 points while Josh Hart tallied 22. Knicks starters made history in Wednesday’s win, as their opening quintet became the first to reach double-figures in scoring in the opening half since the NBA began tracking data by period in 1996-97.
Forced to work without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a groin strain, the Bucks have tumbled down the Eastern leaderboard thanks to a six-game losing streak. The latest dire addition was a 106-103 defeat in Cup play to the Miami Heat in South Beach. Ryan Rollins led the way with 26 points for the Bucks, who are also missing Kevin Porter Jr. due to a knee issue. Antetokounmpo is currently listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report.
This will be the middle meeting of the three-game set between the Knicks and Bucks this season, with Milwaukee previously protecting its home floor with a 121-111 triumph back on October 28. Brunson bested Antetokounmpo in a 36-35 scoring battle, but the latter had help from Rollins, who scored 25 to help the Bucks overcome a double-figure halftime deficit. The closer is scheduled for Feb. 27 at Fiserv Forum.
Ironically enough, the Knicks and Bucks are the only teams to appear on each of the first two NBA Cup knockout brackets, though that streak will end tonight. The Knicks’ path forward is simple, as they’ll rejoin the Eastern quartet with a win (owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over group leader Miami) and miss out entirely with a loss. The Bucks need a win and a little help, as their hope lies solely in the wild-card slot, heavily reliant on the point-differential tiebreaker.
What: Milwaukee Bucks (8-11, 2-1 NBA Cup) at New York Knicks (11-6, 2-1 NBA Cup)
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Who’s Favored: NYK -7.5
Look out for Josh Hart
Even with Mitchell Robinson back from a brief medical absence, the Knicks have opted to go with a smaller lineup in their past couple of games.
That partly centers (pun intended) on Hart manning the interior with Towns, resembling a quintet that helped push the Knicks to last year’s conference finals.
Hart has not only filled the hustle quotient he routinely took care of last year (tying Towns with 12 rebounds in Monday’s win over Brooklyn), but he’s also succeeding from the field despite dealing with a medical splint: in his last six games, Hart is shooting over 54 percent from the floor, including 45 percent from three.
Buck to Watch: Ryan Rollins
Alongside recurring Knick playoff foe Myles Turner, Rollins is the Bucks’ de facto offensive headliner with the Greek Freak ailing. The Knicks are certainly well-versed in the value that Rollins can bring to the table, as he set a then-career-best in their first go-around last month.
The modern Knicks have been prone to letting victorious teams get hot from deep, so containing Rollins should be defensive priority one as the Bucks adjust to life without Antetokounmpo.
They said it
“I feel like when we have a faster lineup out there we just get the pace going, we get stops. We have guys that want to guard, get stops and then get up the floor. And then we’re just good with sharing it. When KAT’s going, we’re looking for KAT. Obviously JB, he’s dominant, and then we all just feed off that.”—Knicks guard Miles McBride on the smaller lineup (h/t Stefan Bondy, New York Post)
“The bottom line is we have to play better in the minutes that Giannis is not on the floor. We have to improve in the minutes that Giannis is not on the floor, and that’s been a problem for a long time, not just this year. We have to figure that out, because we can’t keep losing leads when that happens.”—Bucks head coach Doc Rivers on playing without Antetokounmpo (h/t Eric Nehm, The Athletic)
Prediction
Both sides will have a little something more to play for as the Cup hits its closing stages: the Bucks are trying to make ends meet without their franchise face (all while trying to impress him well enough to stick around) while the Knicks could benefit from whatever the incentive victory in the NBA Cup has to offer by winning on some form of big stage. Ultimately, it feels like the Knicks are better equipped to handle that at this point, so expect New York to come out swinging at home.
