Carmelo Anthony scores 32 points as the New York Knicks defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 111-107 – NBA Recap
On Wednesday night at the Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI, the visiting New York Knicks gave themselves a strong lift in the playoff contention as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 111-107. Milwaukee, who are chasing the Knicks for
the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, fell two games behind the visitors after this loss.
Carmelo Anthony, who seems to be peaking late this season, notched up a double-double with 32 points and 10 rebounds. He was accompanied in the double-double department by his own team mate Tyson Chandler, who had 19 points and
11 rebounds. Iman Shumpert scored 16 points and Landry Fields scored 11 points. J.R. Smith and Steve Novak, both came off the bench to contribute 14 and 10 points respectively.
Monta Ellis also had a double-double, a game high of 35 points plus 10 assists to lead the Bucks. Brandon Jennings added 22 points but the rest of the Milwaukee starters had a miserable night as they combined together to shoot
2 of 7 from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and had a combined total of 5 points in the game. Mike Dunleavy came off the bench to contribute 19 points and 6 rebounds.
In the first quarter, Anthony opened up the Knicks account with a jump shot. On the next possession Ellis converted a layup to start the Bucks account. This started a free flow of baskets between the two teams till the 8:25 mark
when Knicks were ahead 13-12. New York then decided to turn the intensity up as they went on a 7-0 run to gain control over the matchup.
The lead was extended to 14 at one point during the first quarter however the Bucks were able to reduce that margin to 9 after the first 12 minutes. In the first quarter, Knicks only had 3 jump shots while the rest of the score
came from drives to the basket as they made a meal out of the Bucks non-existent defence.
Bucks started the second quarter off on an 11-2 run to tie the score at 38-all. With the momentum on their side, Bucks were able to get ahead in the contest, even though it was a minor advantage, they still led for the most part
of the second period. Knicks came back to make it all square as Chandler converted 2 free throws to make the score 62-62 at the halfway mark.
The second half started off with both teams trading baskets again and no side looked to have a reasonable advantage as the scores were all tied at 78 with 3:28 remaining. Bucks closed the remaining three minutes of the period on
a 10-6 run to get ahead by 4, going into the fourth.
In the final quarter off the game the Bucks were able to extend their advantage to 8 at one point. However the Knicks were not letting up as they chipped down the lead to tie the score at 96-96 with 5:11 remaining in the game.
In the final 5 minutes of the game, the lead changed hands 5 times as both sides looked to win this game. Knicks were trailing by one when Smith ran through a screen to successfully make a 3 and give New York the lead for good.
Knicks went on to convert three of four free throws in the final seconds to take this one by 4 and keep their hopes for a playoff spot alive.
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