Knicks News: Bench Shines as New York Runs Over Bucks in Season Opener

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Opening night of the 2015-2016 season for the New York Knicks, the schedule makers made sure that Phil Jackson and company faced the top free agent that spurned them.

Luckily for New York, Greg Monroe and the Milwaukee Bucks were missing some key players. Jabari Parker is still recovering from surgery in January to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. The “Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo served a one game suspension for ramming over Mike Dunleavy in the Playoffs last season in the mist of getting eliminated from the first round.

The Knicks though had their own injuries to deal with as New York were without Arron Afflalo (mild strained hamstring), Kevin Seraphin (sore right knee), and Lou Amundson (sore lower back) for the season opener.

Monroe got to work early on New York, collecting four offensive rebounds in the first five minutes of play. Monroe finished the opening quarter with 6 points and 7 rebounds. Monroe finished the game with a double-double, 22 points and 14 rebounds.

Michael Carter-Williams also had his way with the Knicks early on with the 34-year-old Jose Calderon guarding him… Carter-Williams got into the paint at will… getting to the rim for a layup and a dunk on consecutive possessions, giving the Bucks an early 11-4 lead.

Calderon just could not keep up the 24-year-old point guard and got into early foul trouble, which honestly was a godsend, sending Calderon to the bench. With the much quicker Langston Galloway coming into the game, New York was able to make Carter-Williams life a lot more difficult, forcing him into 3/10 shooting to end the first quarter after the terrific start.

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The second unit came up huge for New York Wednesday night, completely erasing the early deficit to lead 27-23 after one quarter of play. The bench was led by Derrick Williams, who was feasting on the fastbreak after every Knicks’ stop. After struggling early to contain the Bucks, the Knicks went on to hold Milwaukee to 31% shooting in the first quarter. It seemed like Williams outletted up the court after every Milwaukee miss, using his athleticism to get into the paint, scoring 11 points in the opening quarter. With Williams leading the way, New York had 21 first quarter bench points.

New York went on a 15-0 run bridging from the end of the first quarter to the start of the second quarter, taking a 34-23 lead. Kristaps Porzingis really struggled shooting in his regular season debut, finally scoring his first basket in the middle of the second quarter. Porzingis shot just 1/6 in the first half but was able to work his way to the free-throw line eight times. Porzingis scored 9 of his total 16 points in the first half.

Superstar Carmelo Anthony struggled in the first half, scoring only five points, going 2/9 from the field. Although, for one night New York did not miss all the scoring, the second unit lead the way with 38 first half bench points. This tied for most first half bench points since February 2, 2013 against the Sacramento Kings. New York entered halftime with a 63-51 lead.

New York came roaring out of the gates to start the second half, going on a 14-4 run gaining a 22 point lead, 77-55. The Bucks cut into New York’s lead with a mini 8-3 run, with Monroe scoring six of the points to narrow the margins 80-65 with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter.