Bucks 105, Knicks 104: Giannis' buzzer-beater silences Garden crowd
New York– Giannis Antetokounmpo beat the buzzer to spoil a Garden party.
The 6-foot-11 Milwaukee Bucks star backed down Lance Thomas and hit a dramatic 15-foot step-back shot that left the Madison Square Garden sellout crowd gasping and the Bucks victorious, 105-104, over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
The Bucks won a video review with 8.6 seconds left after Antetokounmpo knocked the ball off Derrick Rose's thigh and out of bounds.
Milwaukee went directly to Antetokounmpo on the inbounds pass, and he dribbled four or five times before hitting the game-winner. It was his first buzzer-beater and Antetokounmpo said he didn't know how to react until his teammates started pounding on him and celebrating at midcourt.
"I didn't feel anything for the next 5 seconds until one of my teammates grabbed me," Antetokounmpo said. "I was like, 'Wow. Let's go home. Let's get out of here.' But it feels good because everybody wanted this win so bad."
Antetokounmpo finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds and four assists as the Bucks (18-16) won their third straight and extended the Knicks' losing streak to six games. Malcolm Brogdon had 12 points and eight assists, and Greg Monroe added 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Brogdon inbounded the ball to Antetokounmpo on the final play, and the Greek Freak was looking for Jason Terry to pop open. But when he didn't, Antetokounmpo knew he could post up and get off his shot over the shorter Thomas.
It is a play Antetokounmpo has worked on countless times in practice sessions with assistant coach Sean Sweeney and the Bucks staff.
"I was patient," Antetokounmpo said. "I knew I could shoot the ball over the top, and he was not going to block my shot. I just wanted to make sure I took the last shot.
"Moose (Monroe) was at the top. Thank God he dived and he gave me the space to go in my hot spot."
BOX SCORE: Bucks 105, Knicks 104
Bucks coach Jason Kidd said the play shows how far Antetokounmpo has progressed.
"Giannis has a decision, looking for Jet (Terry) coming off a pin-down," Kidd said. "But it's his ball and he made the decision to take the shot.
"That's something he's practiced. He's going to play thousands of games. He's had some early (game-winning) chances this season that haven't gone down, but I thought he got to his strength and took his time. It wasn't a rushed shot and he did the rest."
The Bucks trailed, 87-73, entering the fourth quarter but quickly got back in the game with a 14-2 run to start the period. Terry hit a pair of three-pointers and Monroe had six points during the run. Milwaukee never led in the second half until the final shot.
"That just shows our growth," Monroe said. "Guys came in; they stuck with it. And at the end, Giannis hit a big-time shot. I'm looking forward to chauffeuring him around my hometown during the all-star break."
Monroe referred to New Orleans, where Antetokounmpo certainly is headed in mid-February for the NBA All-Star Game.
Antetokounmpo also had a sensational dunk in the fourth quarter as he took off from just inside the elbow and hammered in a one-hander while Carmelo Anthony made sure he got out of the way. It came immediately after a three-pointer by Anthony and cut the Knicks' lead to 95-91.
"I knew Melo was trailing me and I knew he would try to foul me, so I just tried to take off as far as I can," Antetokounmpo said. "I didn't realize it (how far from the basket he was), no."
Jabari Parker added 15 points for Milwaukee and Mirza Teletovic had 13.
Anthony led the Knicks (16-19) with 30 points and 11 rebounds and Rose and reserve forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas each added 15 points.
The teams played to a 52-all tie at halftime, but Anthony scored 14 points in the third quarter and New York led by as many as 16 points late in the quarter.
"We got lulled into their tempo, and that doesn't work out very well for us," Terry said. "But talk about Giannis and his growth. We've been asking for a closer and tonight he showed he can close.
"We had confidence in him. Coach drew the play up and he delivered. If you talk about a flower, he's in bloom right now. The petals are starting to open up and it's a joy to be around."
THREE TAKEAWAYS
1. Derrick Rose showed a spring in his step while helping the Knicks dominate the third quarter. Twice the former Chicago Bulls star made hard drives to the hoop and missed but drew the defense, allowing teammate Joakim Noah to make easy tip-ins. New York outscored Milwaukee, 35-21, and Rose had all four of his assists in the quarter.
2. Bucks coach Jason Kidd gave Miles Plumlee a rare chance for first-half playing time, but the reserve center badly missed on two easy layup attempts and lasted only 4 minutes before being replaced by John Henson in the second quarter. Greg Monroe continues to play the most minutes of the Bucks’ center trio and logged 31 minutes on Wednesday.
3. Noah kept holding his shoulder and had to leave the game at one point in the fourth quarter, but he re-entered in the final 2 minutes to add to New York's defense. Noah finished with eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Teams: New York Knicks (16-19) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (18-16).
When: 7 p.m. Friday (ESPN).
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center.
About the Knicks: Jeff Hornacek is in his first year coaching the Knicks and trying to find an identity for a team that made plenty of changes in the off-season. Knicks 7-3 center Kristaps Porzingis missed Wednesday’s game with a sore left Achilles but could return on Friday in Milwaukee if he is able to practice Thursday. Hornacek said he thought the Knicks made the right play in getting the ball to Rose on the inbounds play late in the game. "Giannis got his hand on it and knocked it out (off Rose)," Hornacek said. "We felt that we would get it right to Derrick and we had timeouts."