The combination of the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton was too lethal for the Knicks, and suddenly the ‘Bockers find themselves on a three-game losing streak.

For the third consecutive game, the Knicks did not win.

After a huge win to open the season against Atlanta in which New York had one of their highest-scoring quarters ever, the Knickerbockers have dropped three straight matches.

The Bucks came out strong, scoring 71 in the first half, while the Knicks were the opposite of strong. Thanks to the perfect mixture of bad shots, sloppy play, and a stalwart Milwaukee defense, New York would end the half with only 52 points on 41 percent shooting. Following the slow start the Knicks almost pulled a miraculous comeback, at one point taking the lead after trailing by 19. However, the Knicks are physically unable to complete a comeback, and in the end they would fall to the Bucks 124-113.

Although it ended in a loss, there were definitely some positives to take out of tonight’s game. The young Knicks had some fight in them, and after nearly coming back against the Celtics last time out, they gave another Eastern Conference contender a run for their money on Monday night.

Some takeaways from tonight’s loss in Milwaukee. …

Trey Burke, Third Quarter MVP

After a slow start, Burke would wake up and ignite the third-quarter semi-comeback. He dropped 16 in the period and helped cut New York’s deficit from 19 to one. Tonight was a glimpse of why Burke was named the starting point over the likes of Frank Ntilikina and Emmanuel Mudiay. While he can be inconsistent at times, Trey Burke simply gets B U C K E T S.

Having Burke out there gives the Knickerbockers an extra player that can create a shot when the offense gets stagnant, something they need especially now with Porzingis out of the lineup. Plus he looks like Allen Iverson from far away, so starting him was probably a no-brainer for Knicks head coach David Fizdale.

Super Mario

Despite the loss, Hezonja had a solid outing.

While there was some poor shot selection at times for the Croat, Mario showed some improvement upon his first three games in orange and blue. The court vision and ability to create shots has always been there, but Monday Hezonja showed that he can get to the rim and score consistently as well as knock down the three ball. He finished the game with 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting along with three assists.

Also, is it just me or does Mario sometimes look like KP at first glance? Maybe it’s just the Porzingis withdrawals getting to me.

Giannis!

The Greek Freak is insane.

31, 15, and 4.

That is all.

Other Notes:

  • Khris Middleton was another standout for the Bucks tonight, dropping 30 on 11-of-14 shooting and helping to close out New York down the stretch with a few clutch shots. Middleton, who has a player option after this season, rained down seven three-pointers to sink the Knicks.
  • While he lead the team in scoring with 24, Timmy finished with a -25. He also fouled out in the closing moments of the match. That is not good.
  • A reoccurring theme, Ron Baker got ROCKED in the first quarter.

 

 

This dude gets hit in the face way too much. Poor Ron.

  • This was pretty cool

 

 

The Knicks head to Fizdale’s old stomping grounds, Miami, for a Wednesday night matchup. Can they end their three-game skid?