Damian Lillard scored 15 of his team-high 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the visiting New York Knicks 110-105 on Friday in the teams’ first game of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 22 points, Jae Crowder added 14, MarJon Beauchamp had 13 and Brook Lopez finished with 13 points and eight blocks for Milwaukee.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 45 points. Quentin Grimes scored 17, Julius Randle had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley added 14 points. Mitchell Robinson finished with 15 boards.
New York, which trailed by as many as 14 points early in the third quarter, cut the deficit to 99-97 on Randle’s layup with 3:19 remaining in the fourth.
Brunson hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 left to give the Knicks their first lead since early in the second quarter at 103-101.
Lillard scored the next six points to put Milwaukee ahead 107-103 and converted two foul shots in the final seconds to secure the victory.
Khris Middleton chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds for Milwaukee, which shot 42.7 percent from the field and 20-for-39 (51.3 percent) from 3-point range.
RJ Barrett (sore left knee) missed his second straight game for New York, which shot 39.6 percent from the field and 25.6 percent (10-for-39) from 3-point range. Randle finished 5-for-20 from the field and 1-for-9 from beyond the arc.
New York trailed early before using a 20-5 run midway through the opening quarter to move ahead 25-21 by the period’s end.
Beauchamp and Crowder each hit a pair of 3-pointers to help put Milwaukee ahead early in the second quarter, and the Bucks led 56-46 at the half.
New York, which entered the game shooting a league-worst 40 percent from the field, shot 31.4 percent (16-for-51) in the first half. Randle scored 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting before halftime.
Brunson’s jump shot capped a 10-0 run and pulled the Knicks within 62-58 midway through the third quarter. New York trailed by six entering the final period.
–Field Level Media
