MILWAUKEE — — OG Anunoby scored 20 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks defeated Milwaukee 116-107 on Friday night to hand the Bucks their third consecutive loss.
Mikal Bridges added 26 points for the Knicks, who took the lead for good less than four minutes into the game. Josh Hart had 13 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in his return after missing one game with a sprained left foot. Kyle Kuzma and Ryan Rollins added 20 points apiece, with Rollins getting a career high.
New York won all three of its regular-season meetings with the Bucks and could see them again in the first round of the playoffs. In the two matchups at New York, the Knicks rolled to a 116-94 victory on Nov. 8 and a 140-106 triumph on Jan. 12. New York is third and Milwaukee sixth in the East.
Takeaways
Knicks: With New York’s backcourt missing the injured Jalen Brunson, Cam Payne and Deuce McBride, the Knicks got quality contributions from a couple of reserves familiar with Fiserv Forum. Delon Wright, who started this season with the Bucks, had 10 points in the first quarter and finished with 12 for his first double-figure game of the season. Tyler Kolek, a former Marquette star, had five points, five assists and no turnovers.
Bucks: Milwaukee’s hopes of earning home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs are dwindling. The Bucks (40-33) are three games behind fourth-place Indiana (43-30) and 1 ½ games behind surging Detroit (42-32) in the East. The top four teams get home-court advantage.
Key moment
After trailing by as many as 17, Milwaukee cut New York’s lead to 67-65 on Kuzma’s 3-pointer with 5:45 left in the third quarter. The Knicks answered with a 12-1 run and the lead didn’t drop below six again.
Key stat
The Knicks had a 26-13 edge in points off turnovers.
Up next
Both teams play again Sunday. The Knicks host Portland, while the Bucks host Atlanta.
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