The Milwaukee Bucks were routed 127-98 by the New York Knicks on Friday night at Fiserv Forum, and head coach Doc Rivers pointed to intensity and execution as the decisive factors.
“I just didn’t think we mattered tonight, honestly,” Rivers said after the loss. “I thought the first quarter we kind of hung in there, but we turned the ball over. Bad turnovers that got them comfortable.”
Milwaukee committed 16 turnovers, which led to 19 New York points.
Jalen Brunson set the tone early with 22 first-quarter points on 9-of-10 shooting.
“Yeah, he got it going,” Rivers said. “We had a bunch of game plan mistakes early and they took advantage of it.”
The Knicks led 38-30 after one and extended the margin to 77-57 by halftime while shooting 60 percent from the field.
“You knew before the game they had two days off,” Rivers said. “They got, you know, as they called it, they got punked in Cleveland. That’s their words, not mine.”
He added, “You knew they’re going to come in with a physicality. We talked about it this morning. I told them over and over. This game is going to be played at a different level of intensity. I just didn’t think we met their physicality and their intensity.”
New York finished 21-for-42 from three-point range and hit 13 of its first 22 attempts.
“Some of the guys on their team we gave shots to and we’re fine with that,” Rivers said. “But I just thought they got everything they wanted and forget the threes. When they wanted to drive, they drove the ball. When they wanted to shoot, they shot the ball.”
Milwaukee entered the night having won eight of 10, but struggled to generate consistent offense as the deficit grew.
“When they get out, they start making shots, then we tonight at least went to forcing shots,” Rivers said. “I thought we the ball just was dribbled way too much.”
He referenced the pregame scouting emphasis.
“Analytically, we talked about it before the game,” Rivers said. “The Knicks are a very good dribble defensive team. They’re not a good when you move the ball, get to the second side, swing and act team.”
The Bucks scored just 21 points in the third quarter and never trimmed the deficit below 15 in the second half.
“We did that in the first quarter and a half and then we went to the ball just was we dri out of the game,” Rivers said.
Myles Turner had 18 of his 19 points in the first half.
“We just knew with Towns that he was going to get him,” Rivers said. “We needed to get to the paint. We did that and Myles took advantage of it.”
Kyle Kuzma scored 17 points and has shown improvement from three in recent games.
“He’s making them,” Rivers said. “I don’t love the early ones, but I like the ones in the corner. I want him to keep taking those.”
Milwaukee fell to 26-32 and remains 11th in the Eastern Conference standings.
