MILWAUKEE — In a contrast that defined a discouraging Knicks performance, Giannis Antetokounmpo played like a superstar and Karl-Anthony Towns played like he’s still very, very uncomfortable in this new system.
Towns continued his clunky start to this season with just eight points on 2-for-12 shooting in 35 minutes, a stat line that doomed the Knicks to a 121-111 loss in Fiserv Forum.
Antetokounmpo, the most coveted trade target if he ever forces his way out of Milwaukee, dropped a game-high 35 points on an efficient 16-for-22 from the field.
What a difference between centers.
If the Knicks ever want the Bucks to take KAT in a trade for Antetokounmpo, they better hope Tuesday’s tape isn’t under consideration. It was ugly for Towns, who has looked lost in Mike Brown’s offense.
Still, Brown applauded Towns’ first-half effort, when the center only took one shot attempt as largely a decoy as the Knicks took a double-digit lead into the break. Then Towns forced the issue in the third quarter, missed a glut of shots, and acknowledged it was a problem.
“I got a new role. I’ve got to embrace that and I didn’t do that for 48 minutes tonight. And it hurts,” Towns said. “It’s going to be a tough car ride [to Chicago for the next game Friday]. It’s going to be a tough two days to live with that.”
Even with Towns’ issues, the Knicks (2-2), losers of two straight, kept the game close before the offense went dead midway through the fourth quarter. That’s also when a worst-case Knicks scenario looked like a possibility, when Jalen Brunson crumbled to the court in pain after appearing to hurt his groin.
It seemed painful, and potentially devastating to the Knicks’ early-season plans, but Brunson returned after the timeout. He limped through some of the final six minutes, however, and the Knicks were outscored to end the contest 18-8.
Game over.
“I’m fine,” Brunson reassured.
Brunson (36 points) and Mikal Bridges (24 points) were the only effective offensive weapons for the Knicks, especially with Towns in a slump.
“I talk to [Towns], we talk and it’s a process for all of us,” Brunson said. “There are gonna be times when things aren’t going one of our ways and it’s on us as teammates to have his back.
“But at some point, all of us go through a lull in the season. I don’t even want to call it a lull. It’s just we’re still learning and everything is brand new for us. We’re not gonna use that excuse for a long time. But these first couple weeks, it’s still fresh for us.”
The Knicks were coming off their first loss of the season two nights prior, a brickfest in Miami that appeared to carry over when the Knicks started 1-for-10 from deep. But they picked up the efficiency dramatically in the second quarter — going 8-for-10 in those 12 minutes — and looked in control at halftime.
Then the third quarter was the death knell — an offensive misadventure — with Towns becoming the main reason. The center, who has struggled all season, was force-fed while Brunson went to the bench and put up the following stat line in the third quarter: two points, 1-for-9 shooting, two turnovers, three fouls, minus-14.
A wreck.
“I’ve got do whatever is needed to win. First half, I played how he needed me to play. The game switched up and I tried to get going just in case they needed me. And I just didn’t make a shot,” Towns said. “So I pressed a little bit too much today. I have more experience than to do that. I didn’t do what we needed to do to win tonight and that’s on me. I take full responsibility.”
The Knicks were again playing without Miles McBride, who missed his second straight game for personal reasons. Guerschon Yabusele was also unavailable because of a sprained knee sustained in Miami.
Brown used a new starting lineup, with Landry Shamet at the wing. Shamet played well with 16 points in 40 minutes. But Antetokounmpo, whose squad went 0-3 against the Knicks last season, was too good.
“Well they’re trying to play faster, and I don’t know if they necessarily are playing faster, but they’re trying to get up more 3s and they are doing that,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “And so we want to try to get them off that line.”
Rivers also believes these Bucks — who swapped out Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez to get younger and faster — are better equipped to combat the Knicks.
“I just think we’re more athletic,” Rivers said. “I think we can guard better, we can switch in different spots.”
The Bucks also still have Antetokounmpo, the best player in the conference, who entered Tuesday averaging 36 points.
“Yeah, oh man, he’s a monster,” Brown said.
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