Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and the New York Knicks returned home from a four-game road trip to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 116-94 on Friday.
The Knicks spent little time riding Milwaukee, which was completing a back-to-back home road. The Buckeyes ended a six-game losing streak by beating Utah on Thursday, but trailed by double digits midway through the first quarter on Friday.
New York, which never trailed, led by 28 points. Towns hit 12 of 20 shots from the floor — including 4-of-8 from 3-point range — and the Knicks gave him plenty of support.
All five New York starters scored in double figures, including Mikal Bridges with 17 points and Jalen Brunson with 15. Brunson also dished out nine assists.
Josh Hart and OG Anunoby had solid performances all around. Hart scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Anunoby collected 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. New York had assists on 35 of their 43 field goals.
Off the bench, Miles McBride added 14 points and Tyler Kolek eight.
On defense, the Knicks held Milwaukee stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard to fewer points than their season average. Antetokounmpo, who was averaging 31 points per game entering, finished with 24 points on Friday. He also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Lillard, who averaged 28.4 points per game, had scored at least 34 in the Bucks’ last three contests before finishing with 19 in New York. He went 0-of-4 on 3-point attempts, part of a team-wide shooting streak from long range (7 of 30).
No other Milwaukee player has reached double figures. AJ Green scored all nine of his points off the bench on 3-of-6 shooting from long range.
–Field Level Media
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