Knicks at Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks had little trouble taking down the New York Knicks on the road on Christmas Day and will try to sweep the home-and-home set when they host the finale on Thursday. Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 30 points and 14 rebounds in the Bucks' 109-95 triumph at New York.
Milwaukee dominated the Knicks on the defensive end Tuesday, holding New York to 36.5 percent from the floor while forcing 15 turnovers. "Hopefully our identity is built from our defense," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. "We know that's going to be there every possession every night. We're going to take the shots offensively, try to play with great place, all those things, but not let our overall energy and effort be affected if we’re not making shots." The loss was the fifth straight for the Knicks, who are losers of 12 of their last 14 contests and are staring down a six-game road trip that will take them through Western Conference powers Utah, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland and Golden State after leaving Milwaukee. "We've got to stay together and find a way to make our lives a lot easier while we're out there on the floor," New York shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. told reporters. "Knock down our shots when we're open, hit the right man when they're open and defend."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (9-26): New York was only down two points at the half on Tuesday but was outscored 36-22 in the third quarter. "It's a common thing that we have to change," rookie small forward Kevin Knox told reporters. "Most of our losses, it's the one quarter. We played them really good in the first half. We were down just two. But that third quarter, something slips for us. It's got to change." Knox led the team with 21 points in the setback and scored 21 or more points in each of the last three contests.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (23-10): Antetokounmpo contributed to the defensive effort on Tuesday with four steals and two blocks and leads the team in points (26.4), rebounds (12.8), assists (5.9) and steals (1.32) while ranking second in blocks (1.42). One area in which Antetokounmpo does not thrive is from beyond the arc, where he is connecting at 12.7 percent. Milwaukee as a team struggled from 3-point range on Tuesday, connecting on 6-of-32 as Khris Middleton (1-of-7), Brook Lopez (1-of-6) and Malcolm Brogdon (1-of-5) all struggled to find their shot.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Middleton is 3-of-18 from 3-point range over the last two contests.
2. Hardaway went 4-of-18 from the floor in Tuesday's loss and is shooting 39.1 percent.
3. Milwaukee took seven of the last eight in the series.