By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The New York Knicks handed the Milwaukee Bucks a demolition exhibition after blasting them by 34 points, 140-106, during their NBA Eastern Conference regular season showdown on January 13, 2025.
After leading by just three points at the end of the opening period, the Knicks ramped their intensity up and dominated the next three quarters, outscoring Milwaukee, 104-73.
New York capitalized on Milwaukee’s inefficient offense, out-shooting them from the three-point line and the perimeter to cap off the lopsided victory with a 51/88 total team shooting from the field.
The Bucks were able to keep up with New York’s high-octane attack in the first quarter and even took a brief four-point advantage before the Knicks hosted a three-point barrage in the closing minutes of the opener.
New York sucked the life out of the Bucks when the second quarter started as Jalen Brunson was a one-man wrecking machine, putting up buckets at will while drawing fouls that put the Bucks in early penalty trouble.
Brunson was unconscious all game long and spearheaded New York’s massive rally across three quarters as he capped off the huge win with a game-high 44-point explosion built from an efficient 16/26 shooting from the field.
The hefty leftie was automatic from downtown, draining five out of his 10 total attempts from the parking lot while finishing with a 7/8 shooting from the charity stripe.
Aside from his offensive brilliance, Brunson also stuffed the stat sheets and tallied an all-around outing of six assists, five rebounds, and a steal.
Backstopping Brunson in the win was Karl Anthony-Towns who delivered a dominant double-double performance of 30 markers and 18 rebounds.
Towns picked up where Brunson left off late in the second canto, steering New York to a momentum-shifting 39-29 advantage after the quarter.
The duo was just unstoppable until the second half, and Milwaukee had to pick their poison whether they wanted Brunson or Towns to carry the scoring load for the Knicks.
Apparently, the Bucks’ defense allowed Brunson to set up several switch mismatches and abused the defense of Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis at the top of the key.
For the Milwaukee side, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 46 points, but the 1-2 punch of Brunson and Towns outplayed them in front of their fans at the Madison Square Garden.
