Knicks answer the Bucks' one good quarter, pull away 117-85 at the Garden

NEW YORK — The Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 117-85 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, shrugging off the one stretch that briefly made it a game and winning their fourth straight.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 16 rebounds. Jalen Brunson scored 23 and went 8 for 8 from the free throw line. OG Anunoby added 19 on 5-of-8 shooting from 3. New York (6-4, 4-2 at home) led by as many as 32. Milwaukee (1-10) has lost seven in a row.

• Final: Knicks 117, Bucks 85 (26-21, 32-13, 27-38, 32-13)
• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York. Attendance 19,812.

A 32-13 second quarter

The first quarter was the only competitive stretch of the night. Myles Turner opened the game with a 26-footer, Milwaukee was still ahead 5-4 with 8:48 left, and all seven lead changes came before the first horn. Miles McBride's 25-foot 3 off an Andre Drummond assist made it 26-18 with 44 seconds on the clock, and the quarter ended 26-21.

Then New York put the game away. The Knicks outscored Milwaukee 32-13 in the second — a step-back 3 by Anunoby, back-to-back buckets from Tyler Kolek, a Brunson 3 from 25 feet with 1:16 to go. It was 58-34 at the break, with the Bucks 13 of 44 from the field.

Eleven points, and no closer

Milwaukee's third quarter was its best of the game: 38-27. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored inside and from the arc, Kel'el Ware got to the line, and Ousmane Dieng's 25-footer with 12.5 seconds left cut it to 85-72. With 11:38 to go in the fourth, the Bucks were within 11 at 85-74.

They never got closer. Kolek hit a 26-foot 3 and then drove for a layup, Anunoby buried a 24-footer to make it 106-78 with 6:30 left, and New York finished the quarter 32-13. The Knicks led for 87% of the game. Milwaukee's largest lead was three, on the opening possession.

The boards and the line

New York controlled the glass, 70-34 in team rebounds, with 18 offensive boards to Milwaukee's seven. Towns grabbed 16, 13 of them defensive; Drummond pulled down 14 — five offensive — in 15:39 off the bench. That turned into a 38-28 edge in the paint.

The Knicks also lived at the line. Milwaukee was whistled for 25 fouls to New York's 13; the Knicks went 20 of 25 from the stripe while the Bucks attempted 10 free throws all night, making nine. New York scored 25 points off turnovers to Milwaukee's 16.

The Knicks shot 44.9% (40 of 89) and 38.6% from 3 (17 of 44). The Bucks finished at 38.0% (30 of 79) and 36.4% from deep (16 of 44) on the same 44 attempts. Turner went 1 for 7, including 1 for 6 from 3, and Brayden Burries was 1 for 6.

Jaquez led Milwaukee with 16 points. Ryan Rollins had 14, going 4 of 6 from 3, and Kasparas Jakučionis scored 11 with four assists. Nate Ament added 10. Caris LeVert did not play, a coach's decision. The Bucks were on the second night of a back-to-back after losing 117-97 in Boston on Monday.

Off the Knicks' bench, Kolek scored 12 on 5-of-6 shooting in 15:06, and McBride's plus-39 was the best mark in the game. Josh Hart missed the game with an illness; Milwaukee remains without Tyler Herro, who is out with a knee injury.

Up next

New York sits third in the Atlantic, three games behind Philadelphia. Milwaukee is last in the Central, six back of Detroit, and still has just one win, at Indiana on Oct. 27. The Bucks are 0-5 on the road.

Both teams play Wednesday. The Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET, four days after beating them 109-97. The Bucks host the 10-2 Los Angeles Lakers at 8 p.m. ET. New York leads the season series 1-0; the teams meet again in Milwaukee on Dec. 2.