MILWAUKEEE — Derrick Rose was fantastic off the bench, Julius Randle outplayed the Finals MVP, and the Knicks left Fiserv Forum with a victory over the defending champs.
Rose’s athletic and poised presence was the difference in Friday’s 113-98 win over the Bucks, with the Knicks digging themselves out of an early deficit while containing the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Rose scored 23 points in 30 minutes, boosting the second unit in the comeback and closing with the starters. The Knicks outscored Milwaukee by 31 points with Rose on the court. It was a different story for Kemba Walker, who continued his struggles and only logged 15 minutes with five points and two turnovers.
The Knicks (6-3), who snapped a two-game losing streak, bombed in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 21 points. But the recovery was impressive.
Randle finished with 32 points. RJ Barrett added 20 in 39 minutes. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, shot just 7 for 17 with 25 points in 31 minutes, as the Knicks dominated the second half.
It was a great win for the Knicks, but it wasn’t Milwaukee’s ‘A’ team. Starters Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez were both inactive, the former because of a positive COVID-19 test. Jrue Holiday returned from a five-game absence because of an ankle injury and played only 20 minutes off the bench.
Tom Thibodeau called Holiday “the best defending point guard in the league,” but the Bucks gave most of the backcourt minutes to George Hill and Pat Connaughton.
The Knicks, meanwhile, might have a point guard controversy brewing. With Walker in the lineup, the Bucks blitzed the Knicks in the first quarter with eight 3-pointers.
Behind Rose, the Knicks cut the deficit to 7 at the break, and then the defense came alive and buried Milwaukee in the second half. Before the game, Thibodeau defended Walker when presented with the point guard’s team-worst defensive rating and plus-minus.
“That’s the challenge for the starters,” the coach said. “You have three new starters. So how quickly can we adapt and get everybody on the same page? Because if one guy is unsure the whole group is going to look bad. It’s not any one particular guy, it’s the group tied together. And that’s offense and defense.”
Thibodeau contradicted that logic, however, by giving Rose credit for having the team’s plus-minus.
“That’s always been Derrick,” Thibodeau said. “Derrick’s always had the ability to not only play well himself but bring the best out of people he’s with. And so it’s interesting when you look at combinations of when they’re on the floor with Derrick what their plus-minus is and then when they’re not on the floor with Derrick what their plus-minus is. And that’s the mark of a great player. And that’s important.”
The reality is that Walker has struggled and Rose has been good, as reiterated Friday.
