Chris Herring, ESPN Senior Writer
NEW YORK — The Milwaukee Bucks finally had reason to feel good about themselves, or at least feel relieved, on Thursday when they defeated the lowly Utah Jazz, ending their longest losing streak since 2015 with six straight losses.
But the Bucks followed that up with a 116-94 blowout of the New York Knicks on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
And Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo made it clear after the loss that he was not at all satisfied with his team’s effort.
Editor’s picks
1 related
Antetokounmpo said the performance was even more disappointing because it came on the heels of three straight games in which the Bucks, who are 2-7 and tied for 13th in the Eastern Conference, played hard and had a chance to win. . Instead of building on that, he said the team lacked heart against the Knicks.
“Did I compete in the last game? Yes. Did I compete in the two (previous games)? Yes. Did I compete today? No,” he said. “…If you don’t give your all, you can’t win the game. You have to at least give yourself a chance.
“I came to New York after playing great last night, and then I came here and lost by 30 points. Is it OK if I don’t play? I’m not OK with that — two days later. There’s Boston. We won’t compete, we’ll lose by 30 points.”
Antetokounmpo and Bucks coach Doc Rivers both cited the Knicks’ seven offensive rebounds in the first quarter as indicators of New York’s high level of effort and physicality. Rivers recalled a first-half play in which three players took a knee to retrieve a loose ball, only to see a Knicks player dive to the floor and pick it up for an extra ball.
Efforts aside, it can’t be helped that Milwaukee just looks old and slow. The Bucks once boasted the best defense in the league, but Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) had no answers. Towns unleashed an onslaught from deep, passing Brook Lopez multiple times. For a simple basket.
The point-of-attack defense, unchanged since the Bucks acquired star guard Damian Lillard and stopper Jrue Holiday for the 2023-24 season, is among the weakest in the NBA. As of Friday, the Bucks ranked 28th out of 30 teams in defensive pick-and-roll ball handlers. Only Atlanta and Detroit struggle more on a per-possession basis.
The Bucks’ offense isn’t particularly good either, ranking 21st in the league even with Antetokounmpo and Lillard. Rivers said as coach he has to find a way to get forward Bobby Portis active. Lopez has also struggled to find himself offensively.
But Antetokounmpo said all of that, from coaching to shooting luck, is meaningless until the team plays harder and more consistently.
“At the end of the day, we have to compete,” said Antetokounmpo, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds. “The team doesn’t just give us a game. They don’t want us to feel bad.
“We have to contest every possession. Every loose ball we have to put our bodies on the floor and on the line. But we didn’t contest at all.”
