The Knicks have been eliminated from the In-Season Tournament after running into a team that couldn’t miss.

The New York Knicks entered the knockout round of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament riding the high of an impressive victory over a Toronto Raptors team that has given them trouble in the past. Knicks fans were optimistic about their chances to make some noise, despite facing the top seed in both the IST and the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks. True, the Bucks had beaten the Knicks earlier this season, but the Knicks had a very good chance to win that game (many would say they should have won that game) and the Bucks shot a preposterous 20-39 on 3-pointers (including three huge makes from Giannis Antetokounmpo, wasting a 45-point masterpiece from Jalen Brunson). Surely the 3-point randomness would swing back the Knicks’ way, leading to another momentum-building win, no?

NARRATOR: It did not. 

The Knicks succumbed to the Bucks once again, 146-122, behind another barrage of threes from the Bucks. Milwaukee shot a scorching 23-38 from 3-point range en route to torching the Knicks’ vaunted defense in a 146-122 victory. Noted sharpshooters Damian Lillard (5-7) and Malik Beasley (6-10) pummeled the Knicks from long range, but they were aided by the likes of Marjon Beauchamp (2-2), AJ “I thought he was a wide receiver” Green (3-4), and Cam Payne (2-3). Even Giannis hit his only three! 

For a half, the Knicks were able to keep up with the Bucks’ unbelievable efficiency. As Lillard rained in threes from seemingly increasing levels of difficulty and depth, the Knicks responded by attacking the paint and getting to the free throw line. Although Jalen Brunson was a bit out of sorts to start the game, Julius Randle attacked Giannis with a vengeance, sporting a sparkling first-half line of 9-9 from the field for 25 points with his patented combination of physicality and touch in the paint. He always seems to get up for the matchup with Giannis, and last night was no different. 

Unfortunately, the Knicks’ energy did not translate to the defensive end. The Lillard-Antetokounmpo combination poses matchup issues for every team. The Knicks tried to contain Lillard pick-and-roll actions with traps early, but Giannis and Brook Lopez rolling to the rim forced rotations and created openings for shooters. When the Knicks attempted drop coverage on Lillard, he was contest-agnostic and hitting shots from everywhere. When the Knicks’ bigs were aggressive at the level of the screen, Lillard slithered into the paint for layups or kickout passes. 

Still, the Knicks kept up with the Bucks’ breakneck pace, trailing 37-35 after the first quarter. The bench unit continued the trend, getting beat on defense but continuing to score, led by an efficient seven points from Immanuel Quickley and timely second-chance and fast break buckets from Josh Hart. Every time the Bucks would gain a little separation, the Knicks would force a turnover or push the ball and generate points. Every time the Knicks caught up, the Bucks would hit another backbreaking three. Back and forth the haymakers went, with yet another Lillard 3-pointer giving the Bucks a 75-72 lead at the half. 

Again, this author felt optimistic. The Bucks were shooting over 70% from three, and yet only led by three. Surely, they couldn’t keep hitting EVERYTHING, right? 

Unfortunately for the Knicks, the Bucks did not cool off much. Those who follow the Knicks are likely aware that they prefer to grind out slow-paced games. Seventy-point halves are not something you see normally from the Knicks, and as the second half got under way it became clear that the game was going to continue to be played on the Bucks’ terms. The Bucks missed some threes, but the Knicks began to flounder on offense, as the Knicks’ starting lineup struggled to find cohesion on the offensive end. Questionable shot selection and several missed open jump shots kept the Knicks from charging in the third quarter, and the Bucks began to build a lead behind relentless attacks (aided by some lenient officiating) from Giannis. The Bucks would extend the lead to seven and the Knicks’ bench was unable to provide a spark. After a solid first half, Quickley missed several open shots (including three wide-open 10-foot floaters that are normally his bread and butter) and other Knicks, even Donte DiVincenzo, failed to find the range. The Knicks were 4-17 from 3-point range (on mostly good looks) at one point and finished just 7-23.

On the other side, it was Beasley’s turn to repeatedly punish the Knicks’ rotations with threes. Khris Middleton hit an off-balance jumper, Bobby Portis hit a turnaround jumper, and the Bucks once again got back to scorching the nets. Brunson fought for some tough buckets and got going in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome the Bucks’ offensive onslaught. Tom Thibodeau would empty the bench in crunch time and the only mystery was if the Bucks would top 150 points. The Knicks avoided this ignominy, but it was scarce comfort in a 24-point loss that eliminated them from the In-Season Tournament. Ultimately, the Knicks ran into two superstars surrounded by a bevy of capable offensive players who were all on absolute heaters, aided by the fact that the Knicks did not have close to the level of defensive execution to beat a team like the Bucks. 

Notes:

• Across 96 minutes of basketball vs. the Knicks, the Bucks have sustained what has felt like an unsustainable level of shotmaking from deep. A large portion of this is a credit to their considerable talent, most notably Damian Lillard. There is a reason why Lillard has been the most dangerous pull-up 3-point shooter not named Stephen Curry of this generation, and he has lived up to that twice against the Knicks this season (to say nothing of the countless times he did so as a Portland Trail Blazer). The Bucks also pose a difficult matchup problem with Brook Lopez, whose ability to pull Mitchell Robinson out of the paint helps neutralize the Knicks’ rim protection and rebounding. As mentioned above, the Knicks really have had no good answer for defending Lillard in pick and roll, whether it’s Giannis Antetokounmpo or Brook Lopez. Even accounting for all of this and the fact that the Knicks’ help defense and rotations were sloppy at best, it’s very difficult to beat anyone when they shoot over 60% from deep. In light of this, I disagree with many of the takes that were flying around in the wake of the loss. The incessant “SEE?! THE KNICKS NEED A STAR TO GO TOE TO TOE WITH THESE TEAMS” doesn’t fit, particularly on a night where Julius Randle scored 41 points and Brunson and RJ Barrett both crested 20. The Knicks were able to score efficiently in the paint and generate quality looks from three that didn’t fall, while the Bucks seemingly couldn’t miss. My takeaway, at least from last night, is not that another top offensive star is what will put the Knicks over the top against teams like the Bucks (or Celtics). Not on a night when they scored 122 points and gave up 146. 

• Even acknowledging the Knicks’ defensive miscues, they only allowed the Bucks to take 31 threes. It’s not great, but it’s not like the Bucks took a ton of threes. They just made them at an incredibly high rate. 

• On the other hand, the Bucks totaled 32 assists on 55 made field goals. Beyond a shooting clinic, the Bucks also put up a ball movement clinic. 

• As dominant as Mitchell Robinson has been, dealing with stretch 5s has been a recurring issue for this Knicks’ team. I actually thought Isaiah Hartenstein played much better than Robinson yesterday, doing a good job recovering on rolls and moving his feet to defend Giannis without fouling. Robinson was close to invisible. The Bucks’ vaunted frontline deserves credit, of course, but between rebounding, defending on the perimeter, and being able to help on Damian Lillard, the Knicks will need more from their bigs on defense. I’m interested to see how Thibodeau mixes up the defensive coverages against these teams going forward. 

• It was terrific to see another strong offensive performance from Julius Randle, who looks like he has shaken off his early-season shooting woes and is really in command on offense. Giannis struggled to guard Julius all night. Julius was happy to bully Giannis in the paint, countering with a variety of finishes and mid-range jumpers. He was happy to take 3-point jumpers as well, but was perhaps most effective ruthlessly attacking closeouts like a man possessed to get a layup or a trip to the foul line. His vision and decision-making was generally good as well, aside from weirdly force-feeding Robinson in tight spaces in the paint. It was a terrific offensive performance from Randle on a night when even his co-star Brunson struggled at times during the game and many of the other Knicks simply didn’t have it. 

• On the other end, Randle’s performance was — as always — a mixed bag. Randle has always been a very capable, and at times extremely impactful on-ball defender. His combination of size and strength is tough to deal with when he’s locked in, and he had some truly suffocating possessions against Antetokounmpo. His off-ball and help defense, on the other hand, left quite a bit to be desired. When playing drop against Lillard, he consistently failed to get more than token contests (and you need a whole lot more than that against Dame), and he was part of a team-wide lackluster rebounding performance (particularly in the second half). I lamented the Knicks’ centers struggles against stretch 5s, but a big factor that would help the Knicks would be Randle helping them out, whether it’s pinpoint tags on rollers, being aggressive in his pick-and-roll coverage, or of course covering for Robinson and Hartenstein on the glass when they are drawn to the perimeter. We did not see enough of that from Randle, but this is one way Randle can raise the Knicks’ playoff ceiling even if they do not trade for a star. 

• Jalen Brunson started the game off cold and seemed to be a little too deliberate at times, but he came alive in the second half and hit some big shots. A ho-hum 24 points in a night where his counterpart went off ultimately wasn’t enough. 

• RJ Barrett’s post-migraine shooting struggles continued, but I generally liked his offensive process. He did a nice job attacking the rim and getting to the foul line (where he was a perfect 8-8), while finding success with the mid-range floater that has become more and more effective since last year’s playoffs. Like most of the team, he struggled on defense and has come down from his terrific start, but apart from a couple of ill-advised drives that led to a bad shot and a turnover on a panic pass that was thrown at 100 miles per hour at Josh Hart, I thought his offensive process was good.

• After the game, Quentin Grimes expressed frustration at his role, as well as a lack of confidence while shooting because of the fear of being benched if he misses. “Every time I shoot the ball, it feels like it weighs 100 pounds” was a poignant summary of where he is right now, and it has matched what Knicks fans have seen. The brash sharpshooter who needed scarcely any space to get his shot off last season has scarcely been seen this season (aside from one 17-point outburst against, coincidentally, Milwaukee), as he has mostly been relegated to the corner. Even the corner threes haven’t fallen at quite the elite rate they were last season for Grimes (he is currently shooting 38% from the corners, compared to 47.6% last year), and Grimes has often been unwilling to pull the trigger on open shots, or attack closeouts. We have not seen the flashes of finishes through contact or drive and dump-offs to Mitch that we saw last year, and it’s clear he’s a bit lost on the offensive end right now. A shooter in Grimes’ role in the Thibodeau offense is always going to go through periods where they don’t touch the ball much (particularly in a starting lineup that features methodical scorers like Brunson, Randle, and Barrett as opposed to the more free-flowing style seen from teams like the Golden State Warriors), and it can be frustrating, but there is still plenty he can do to get himself involved. Taking a page out of Josh Hart’s book and making timely cuts, helping out on the glass, and occasionally being willing to take an irresponsible shot are ways he can start to get himself back in the flow. I do think Grimes might benefit from spending more time with the bench units (not necessarily being benched, but playing with those lineups), which play at a quicker pace and feature more ball movement. It wasn’t all bad from Grimes yesterday, as he was the Knicks’ most effective defender on Damian Lillard and was sharp on that end all game. He has continued to play hard on defense through his offensive struggles, and we’ve seen countless times that that’s not always a given in the NBA. Grimes is a young player going through an uncharacteristically rough stretch. We’ve seen the same happen to Quickley, Barrett, Robinson, and other young Knicks during the Thibodeau era, and all have eventually overcome. I expect Grimes will as well. 

• Speaking of Quickley, he just didn’t have it last night. He hit one three in the first half and did a good job getting to the foul line, but couldn’t find the range otherwise. When he’s missing wide-open floaters, you know it’s not a good night. I also felt like Quickley had an average (at best) defensive game. He did a nice job forcing some deflections and the scrappy hustle was there, but ultimately he wasn’t able to really impose his will on that end. I did think his offensive process and decision-making was generally good, as three assists to one turnover attest. He was getting into the paint and finding open players or generating good looks for himself. They just didn’t fall. 

• Josh Hart was aggressive pushing the pace and finished 11 points on 5-8 shooting, but he did struggle against the much bigger former Knick Bobby Portis Jr. There aren’t many backup power forwards that can cause issues for the Knicks when Randle goes to the bench, but Portis is certainly one of them. 

• After some lackluster performances, I thought Isaiah Hartenstein had a nice bounce-back game. Aside from one horrible turnover on an outlet pass, he was throwing some dimes. His balance and quick decision-making off the short roll is quite impressive, and as mentioned above I thought he did a good job protecting the rim and making life difficult for Giannis.

That’s all I got. Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. The Knicks will look to bounce back in Boston on Friday night.