MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Thanks for nothing, Adam Silver.
In the end, the only thing the Knicks got out of the commissioner’s beloved NBA Cup was a harder schedule.
Tom Thibodeau’s squad succumbed to an offensive juggernaut Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament, watching helplessly as the Bucks rained 3s and Giannis Antetokounmpo pounded out a 146-122 blowout.
Milwaukee (15-6) advanced to face the Pacers in the semifinals in Vegas on Thursday.
The Knicks fly home before their next game Friday in Boston, a matchup in the loser’s bracket that will also count for the regular season.
Because of the In-Season Tournament, the Knicks (12-8) will face the Celtics and Bucks five times apiece.
Their two added games are in the toughest places to win in the Eastern Conference — at Milwaukee, at Boston. The Knicks are already 0-4 against those two teams with six more to play.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 35 points, goes up for a shot during the Knicks’ 146-122 blowout loss to the Bucks, eliminating them from the NBA In-Season Tournament. NBAE via Getty Images
The Knicks have been bounced from the NBA In-Season Tournament.
“That’s life,” coach Tom Thibodeau said.
As Tuesday reinforced, the Knicks are not in that talent bracket.
The Bucks knocked down an outrageous 23 3-pointers on 38 attempts, with Dame Lillard and Malik Beasley combining for 11.
The home team’s 60.5 percent shooting on treys might’ve been enough to topple the Knicks by itself, but the Bucks also have Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s most physically dominant inside force, who finished with 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.
Julius Randle, who scored 41 points, goes up for a layup during the Knicks’ loss. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConUntil further notice, the Knicks, who beat up on the bottom dwellers in November, are not ready for the cream of the NBA.
“They just came out and busted our ass, for real,” said Quentin Grimes.
Julius Randle put up a fight with 41 points, getting to the paint and bullying his way to an efficient 14 for 19 shooting. But Thibodeau, who normally gushes over such Randle performances, wasn’t interested Tuesday.
“I’m more concerned with taking a good, hard look at what we have to improve defensively,” Thibodeau said. “Obviously, we fell very short in that area.”
Damian Lillard, who scored 28 points, drives past Julius Randle during the Knicks’ loss. Getty ImagesJalen Brunson added 24 points.
But offensively, they still had problems.
The 3-point shooting was bad (7-for-23), especially compared to Milwaukee’s lights-out performance. Grimes continued his disappearing act, scoring zero points and taking just one shot in 18 minutes as the starting 2-guard.
Jalen Brunson, who scored 24 points, drives past Malik Beasley during the Knicks’ loss. APThe first half was close — largely because Randle didn’t miss a shot — but the Bucks quickly dominated in the third quarter. The game felt over with about five minutes into the second half, when Khris Middleton threw an alley-oop off an inbounds pass to a soaring Antetokounmpo for a jam.
The Bucks took a 13-point lead and led by double-digits for all but 24 seconds of the remaining game.
“Defensively we didn’t really do anything all game. That’s the story. That’s it,” Brunson said. “I mean, offensively we were playing fine. Defensively, on that side of the ball, we just didn’t do anything. That’s it.”
