toThe Milwaukee Bucks, riding a seven-game winning streak, destroyed the New York Knicks' pre-Christmas season by defeating the New York Knicks on Saturday at Madison Square Garden by a score of 111-130.

With several families in the audience and some spectators wearing Santa Claus hats, the “early bird” game (starting at 12:30 p.m. in the Big Apple) served as an appetizer for the game they will also face on Monday and which will open a special NBA day tomorrow. Christmas.

With this victory without major problems, the Bucks received a Christmas gift in advance with a seventh consecutive victory with a score of 22-7.

They took advantage of one of their favorite victims, the Knicks, who have lost nine straight to Milwaukee and have not beaten them since November 2021.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (28 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) and Damian Lillard (19 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists) led the Bucks, which boasted a very impressive performance from Bobby Portis (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Khris Middleton (23 points, 11 rebounds). 20 points) and Malik Beasley (19 points and 6 rebounds).

On the other hand, Jalen Brunson (36 points, 7 assists) and Julius Randle (26 points, 8 rebounds) were very lonely for the Knicks (16-12).

The success of the three-pointer (16 out of 32) and control of the rebounds (57 out of 44) were essential to the victory of the Bucks, who scored 52.7% of their field goals.

High school requires passage

The hole in the Knicks' zone, without the injured Mitchell Robinson, was a drain on Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, and expectations came true: In just two minutes, Isaiah Hartenstein went to the bench with his second foul already in his backpack.

The New Yorkers responded by exploiting the shortcomings of Milwaukee's perimeter defense, with Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo showing off their shooting prowess.

However, it was an unexpected guest in Beasley who shined with 11 points in the first quarter (3 of 4 on threes) as the Bucks opened an interesting gap (27-36).

The visitors excelled by scoring 5 of 7 three-pointers in the first 12 minutes, and despite Randle assuming the starring role in the Knicks’ attack, the Bucks remained very comfortable in the +10 orbit with Portis, who added almost 9 points in a row and who entered the second unit with great enthusiasm ( 38-50 with 6.17 for the break).

Milwaukee won minutes without Giannis and Lillard, which is bad news for the Knicks, who have been clumsy and thick on offense.

But the locals, who lost by 16 points, significantly improved their defense in the final minutes, built a 10-2 lead and, thanks to a long basket from Brunson at the buzzer, went to the break with a score of 54-62 which looked like a great prize after halftime.

The Bucks dominated the rebounds (34 to 21), and the team’s top scorers were secondary players such as Portis and Beasley (13 points each), but they committed 8 turnovers and had problems stopping Brunson (21 points).

Lillard was very gray in the first half (2 of 9 shooting), but after the start of the second half he scored two-plus-one with a triple. In addition, Antetokounmpo showed his muscles in the zone with two more baskets and the Knicks trailed again on the scoreboard (67-82 with 6.26 remaining).

Life continued as it was for Bronson: he continued at an excellent level, but with the exception of Randle, no teammate dared to take over.

Instead, the Bucks brought in new players such as Middleton and Pat Connaughton, and continued to enjoy a very prepared Portis and entered the final quarter with a huge lead (87-100).

There was no room for epic this time in New York. A 5-14 run gave the Bucks their first lead of more than 20 points (92-114 with 6.28 remaining) and the Knicks surrendered.