When the New York Knicks played the Bucks in their first group play game on Nov. 3, Milwaukee shot 20-of-39 (51.3% from three). Even after New York shot 10-of-39 from deep (25.6%), the team lost by five, 110-105.
Surely, the Bucks couldn't replicate a similar shooting performance in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, right? Wrong. It's as if nothing motivates Milwaukee more than going up against New York.
The Bucks shot 55-of-92 (59.8%) from the field and 23-of-38 (60.5%) from three in their 146-122 win. Meanwhile, the Knicks shot 43-of-87 (49.4%) from the field and 7-of-23 (30.4%) from three.
New York's defense deserves part of the blame, but to be fair, it's hard to stop a team that's hitting just about everything. Typically, if a team starts hot, they'll eventually cool off. That wasn't the case for Milwaukee.
Bucks PR notes: After scoring a season-high 75 first-half points in tonight’s game, the Bucks have now scored a season-high 112 points through three quarters.
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) December 6, 2023
Milwaukee’s season-high for points in a game is 142
In case you need more evidence that it indeed was a historic night for the Bucks, look no further.
The Bucks points by quarter tonight vs. the Knicks:
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 6, 2023
1st - 37 points
2nd - 38 points
3rd - 37 points
It's the first time New York has let an opponent score 37+ points in the first 3 quarters of a game since Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962 🤯 pic.twitter.com/dGKQyJpmNY
Knicks fans react to Bucks' absurd In-Season Tournament quarterfinals shooting
New York fans and players were looking forward to a possible trip to Las Vegas, but Milwaukee shut that down.
*cancels flight to Vegas* pic.twitter.com/FzBn7CEYNI
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) December 6, 2023
Only the Knicks would have their opponent shoot at a historically great clip in a super important and meaningful game.
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) December 6, 2023
Only the Knicks. pic.twitter.com/6A3YIOkouT
— knicks shitposts (@knicksshitposts) December 6, 2023
Some of this is defense, some of it is very ridiculous shooting luck. Milwaukee hasn’t played a better offensive game all season. Sometimes there’s not much you can do but keep fighting.
— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) December 6, 2023
The Bucks made as many threes as the Knicks attempted. Let that sink in. Milwaukee's two best offensive games this season have come against New York. What can you do about that?
Give me the Bucks in the playoffs.
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) December 6, 2023
Both of their wins vs the Knicks this year have been as flukey as it gets.
Very soon, we'll see how "flukey" the Bucks' two wins against the Knicks were. Milwaukee will travel to NYC later this month for two games at the Garden, Dec. 23 and Dec. 25. Let's not forget that there's a long history of opposing players/teams coming into the Garden and shooting lights out.
It's reasonable to think the Bucks won't be as hot as they've been the past two times they've played the Knicks. However, Milwaukee has proven that when it comes to playing New York, anything is possible.