The Knicks went out to Milwaukee for a 1-night roadtrip without their top 3 point guards — Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, and Cameron Payne all injured — and put in a total team effort to beat Milwaukee 116-107.
NY started long-time NBA vet Delon Wright — picked up at the trade deadline from Milwaukee for Jericho Sims — with rookie Tyler Kolak coming off the bench and they both excelled. Wright attacked from the opening bell against his former team, and got the Knicks going early. Kolak orchestrated and got the Knicks easy buckets in the 2nd and 4th quarters enabling NY to dramatically increase their lead — he had 5 assists in 17 minutes and a +18.
Meanwhile Karl-Anthony Towns got into early foul trouble and only scored 14 pts, but Mikal Bridges (26 pts) gave the Knicks plenty of fire power in the first 3 quarters, and OG Anunoby (31 pts) owned the 4th quarter in a personal duel against Giannis Antetokounmpo (30 pts) — a duel that OG ultimately won.
Mitchell Robinson (10 rebounds) played 18 strong minutes off the bench, often playing with KAT at the same time, Landry Shamet hit big buckets in the 4th when the Knicks were cementing their lead, Precious Achiuwa had a +9 in 6 minutes, and of course Josh Hart was Josh Hart — 13 pts, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists — the total team player in a total team win.
“A good hard-fought game; I think we had a number of guys step up and play well,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “I think our defensive activity was big — forcing turnovers, getting into the open floor, and hitting the offensive boards hard. Big difference in shot attempts. We had good bench play; Landry hit some timely shots, Tyler came in and made some really good plays, Delon gave us really good minutes, and you can’t say enough about what OG, Mikal, and Josh did — they fought throughout the game. Karl got in early foul trouble; I thought Mitch’s activity today was huge. It was a good, solid team win.”
NY improves to 46-27, 3 games ahead of Indiana for 3rd best in the East with 9 games to go. Milwaukee drops to 40-33.
1. Knick Point Guard Wright Attacks from Get Go
The arrival of 7-footer Arial Hukporti this year as a good backup center spelled trouble for Jericho Sims and with Mitchell Robinson due back the Knicks traded Sims at the trade deadline to Milwaukee for veteran point guard Delon Wright.
The Knicks are Wright’s 10th team in the NBA — a career that started in 2015-16 with Toronto after he was the 20th overall pick in the 2015 draft out of Utah. Wright’s career high was 10.2 ppg (.372 from 3) and 4.4 assists in the 2020-21 season for Detroit and Sacramento.
It was a curious pickup — as the Knicks already had 4 point guards — but has proved to be prophetic.
After Cameron Payne sprained his ankle in the last game, joining Brunson (ankle) and McBride (groin) on the sidelines, Wright was thrust in as the starter for this game — ahead of Kolek, the #4 point guard on the Knick’s pecking order.
And Wright came out with aggression — scoring on drives and hitting 3’s and forcing Milwaukee to defend him, which made it easier on other Knicks to score.
Wright passed to Mikal Bridges for the Knicks’ first bucket of the game, then tipped in an offensive rebound for the Knicks’ second bucket.
He then stole the ball from Kyle Kuzma, and a minute later tipped in another offensive rebound for a 12-8 Knick lead. Wright then hit a 3 and it was 15-8 NY.
Delon Wright revenge game? 😈 pic.twitter.com/JaIceRvgAl
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) March 29, 2025
Wright hit a 3 later in the quarter to make it 20-13 NY.
2. Kolek Gets Bridges & Knicks Easy Buckets in 2nd
Then Tyler Kolek came in late in the 1st quarter, and started orchestrating and getting the Knicks easy buckets.
Kolek assisted on a Towns 3, then assisted on a Landry Shamet 3, and the Knicks were off to the races with a 33-21 lead.
Kolek then hit his own 3 and NY was up 36-25.
Kolek then fed Mikal Bridges who went on fire — a 9-foot step back, a drive, a 3, and another drive off a Kolek assist for 9 straight Knick points and a 45-30 lead.
Mikal Bridges is taking over 👀 pic.twitter.com/BdNiwI5WCV
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) March 29, 2025
Mitchell Robinson was in for Defense and rebounding and gave the Knicks a Big look. Robinson grabbed an offensive rebound for a slam late in the 2nd quarter to give NY a 58-45 lead and then an OG steal and Bridges dunk put NY up 60-45 with 39 seconds left in the half.
Monster Mitch 💪 pic.twitter.com/MNRrT3xOhQ
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) March 29, 2025
But serendipity favored Milwaukee in the closing seconds of the quarter — Delon Wright’s inbound pass against Milwaukee pressure with 13 seconds left went out of bounds, the Bucks got the ball and Ryan Rollins hit a 3 as the clock was going off to bring Milwaukee within 11 at the half.
3. Milwaukee Makes their Run in 3rd
Milwaukee continued their run in the first part of the 3rd quarter — playing with new-found energy and putting the Knicks on their heels.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the charge, with drive after drive against OG, and playing a physical game in general. He was helped by Brook Lopez, Ryan Rollins, and Kyle Kuzma.
A Kuzma bucket got Milwaukee to within 3 at 65-62 NY. A Kuzma 3 the next time down made it a 2-pt game, at 67-65.
4. Knicks Stave Off Milwaukee Run at End of 3rd
And that’s when Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up and led the charge back — attacking inside for a hard-fought bucket for a 69-65 Knick lead.
KAT is too strong 💪 pic.twitter.com/gTNE6DlUlY
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) March 29, 2025
That bucket turned the tide and changed the tone — as the Knicks found renewed energy.
Mikal Bridges stole the ball from Taurean Prince on the next play, and fed Josh Hart for a drive and NY was back up 6.
Towns barreled inside for another tough bucket against a pressure D, grabbing his own offensive rebound and putting it home for a 73-66 Knick lead.
Landry Shamet hit two HUGE pullup jumpers late in the quarter to extend the Knick lead to 81-73.
5. Kolek Orchestrates; Knicks Go Up 17 in 4th
Then Tyler Kolek came back in the game to start the 4th, and it was off to the races as he orchestrated, orchestrated, and orchestrated.
OG started the quarter with a steal and a drive the other way — he was fouled and made both free throws.
Kolek then fed OG for a 3, and then fed OG for a dunk and NY was up 88-75.
Shamet hit consecutive 3’s, OG hit a 3, and Kolek hit a nifty drive and NY was up 101-82 with 7:58 left.
The Landry Shamet Game? pic.twitter.com/ztpMKT2fEY
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) March 29, 2025
Tyler Kolek is not intimidated by Giannis 💪 pic.twitter.com/09DtlXJvnf
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) March 29, 2025
6. OG Wins Duel with Greek Freak
Giannis — who used to be called Greek Freak but apparently not much anymore — was doing everything he could to keep Milwaukee in the game on their home court. A frustrated Giannis was getting quite physical bordering on dirty — and OG was clearly getting pissed off by it.
Giannis had given OG a Hard foul on a drive ahead of the field early in the 3rd quarter — a play that looked flagrant but the refs called it a regular foul.
On one play in the 4th, Giannis shoved OG down and scored inside — no call from refs.
OG was playing HARD against Giannis right back — and nailing 3’s and driving inside for buckets. It was a mano-a-mano war.
The Knicks were up 10 with 2 minutes left when OG hit a drive to ice it, then stuck a 3 off a Delon Wright assist (who entered for the last 4:24) assist and it was good night Milwaukee.
TOUGH bucket from The DOG 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/j6WOuYZVxg
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) March 29, 2025
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705636