Brandon Jennings leads Milwaukee Bucks to 102-96 victory over the New York Knicks
Brandon Jennings scored a season-high 37 points as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the visiting New York Knicks 102-96 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. Jennings also grabbed six rebounds and three assists in the victory.
With this win, the Bulls now trail the Indiana Pacers by just two games for eighth position in the Eastern Conference.
The Bucks Head Coach Scott Skiles praised Jennings after the game. He said, "I believe he (Jennings) said something this morning that it's hard to get up for Sacramento but not the Knicks or the Bulls. There it is. He was on tonight. He was in tune. He played
with purpose and as a result had a big night. He a big reason we won, of course."
Centre Andrew Bogut had 21 points, a game-high 17 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Bucks, who have won six of their last 10 games. Forward Luc Mbah a Moute added 12 points and four rebounds, while guard John Salmons finished with 11 points, five assists
and eight rebounds for Milwaukee.
Amare Stoudemire did all he could and posted a team-high 28 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost five consecutive games. Carmelo Anthony had 25 points and eight rebounds, while guard Toney Douglas came off the bench with 16 points in the
defeat.
Match Analysis
The Bucks shot a blistering 63.7 percent from the field in the first quarter took a 35-24 lead going into the second courtesy of 16 points from Jennings.
New York fought hard to cut the deficit in the second quarter but Milwaukee once again managed to take a 58-51 lead into the locker room. The Bucks continued to play aggressively in the third quarter, taking an 82-77 advantage into the final stanza.
The Knicks made a marginal comeback in the fourth quarter as they cut the deficit to 87-86 with nine minutes to go until the final buzzer. Milwaukee then went on a 13-3 run to take a decisive 98-90 lead and New York did not get closer for rest of the period.
Knicks’ forward-centre Stoudemire said that his side would have to work hard if they are to make it to the playoffs. He said, "We have got to fight more. We have definitely got to put a lot more efforts out there on the court, play with a lot more energy."
Stoudemire added, "We have to definitely want these games; I mean we have not done nothing yet. We are not in the playoffs right now. I mean we have the seventh seed, but the way we are going, we are declining."
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