Jalen Brunson dominates as Knicks win by 34 points

Bucks came in on a 3-game winning streak and were 17-7 in their last 24 games

The Knicks needed a better effort this time around after laying an egg against the Thunder last time out. Jalen Brunson was determined to make that happen, as he scored 23 points in the first quarter, setting the tone for a 140-106 blowout of the Bucks Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The win featured the team’s largest margin of victory of the year and upped the Knicks’ record this season to 26-14.

Brunson got started by attacking the rim, which opened things up for him at the perimeter. In the first quarter alone, Brunson shot 7-11 and had three 3-point plays. The first two of those were old-fashioned ones where he converted the foul shot and the third one was from behind the arc. And he was 7-7 from the free-throw line in the opening quarter.

The Bucks were able to stay close in the first period but the Knicks started to put some distance between the teams in the second quarter. Brunson, who played the entire first period, sat to start the second. But the Knicks were able to expand the lead. Cameron Payne came off the bench to score 13 points in the second quarter, thanks in large part to nailing three 3-pointers.

New York took a 13-point lead into halftime. Brunson had 27 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and nine rebounds. It was a great shooting half, with the Knicks hitting 56.5% from the floor ad 40% from behind the arc, a nice change from what they’ve been shooting from deep here recently. And if that wasn’t enough, the converted 13-14 from the line. Oh, and they won the rebounding battle, 23-18.

And then they started the third quarter on a 10-0 run, forcing the Bucks to call two timeouts in the first minute of the period.

It turned out to be too much of a good thing and the gods intervened. Brunson was bumped hard on a drive – of course no foul was called – and once time stopped, Brunson walked immediately to the locker room, favoring his right shoulder.

You could hear a pin drop in the Garden, as all of the air went out of the building. But Brunson was able to return late in the period and went back to being a force offensively.

This game featured top of the top-six scoring tandems in the league, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard averaging a league-best 56.6 points per game. Brunson and Towns average 50.4 points per game.

But it was the Knicks’ duo who came out on top in this one, with 74 points. Brunson had 44 points in 29 minutes, while Towns finished with 30 points and 18 rebounds. The Bucks tandem had 46 points.

The Knicks return to action Monday night, taking on the Detroit Pistons, who beat the Knicks last time out.