Kyle Kuzma scored 14 points in the first five minutes against Boston on Sunday. The Bucks went up 20–6 at home and still lost by 20. That’s the stretch to keep in mind when Milwaukee visits the Knicks on Tuesday. The Bucks can get hot early, but what happens when New York answers and the next few baskets are harder to come by?
What happens after the first run?
In Milwaukee’s 117–97 loss to Boston, Jayson Tatum scored the last 10 points of the first quarter and Paul George scored the first eight of the second. By halftime the Bucks had just 45 points. They had lost by only seven in Boston four days earlier, with Tatum resting. The two games show how different the margin can look when Milwaukee goes cold and the other team keeps scoring.
Jalen Brunson gave Cleveland a similar problem in New York’s 109–97 road win. He scored 18 straight Knicks points in the second quarter, then recovered a loose ball after his shot was blocked and found Landry Shamet for a three. Karl-Anthony Towns added 29. Cleveland still made a late push behind Donovan Mitchell’s 21 fourth-quarter points, and Brunson needed a late jumper to help hold it off.
DraftKings had New York favored by 15.5 points. The Knicks won by 12 in Cleveland and 13 against Brooklyn, but beat Chicago by 30 at the Garden. Milwaukee can spend much of the night playing from behind and still stay inside that number. The danger is a stretch like the one against Boston, when a few empty possessions turned into a run the Bucks never answered.
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Milwaukee’s scoring is only half the total
The Bucks scored between 97 and 107 in their last four games, and all four finished under their own totals. Seven of New York’s nine games this season also stayed under their numbers. But Milwaukee’s 121–107 loss to Toronto landed at 228, below that game’s 228.5 and above Tuesday’s DraftKings total of 222.5.
New York’s double-digit wins in Cleveland and at home against Chicago finished at 206 and 240. The Knicks scored 26 more points against Chicago. If Milwaukee stalls again, watch what New York does with those empty trips. A few quick baskets at the other end can widen the margin and push the total up even while the Bucks struggle to score.
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