MILWAUKEE — In a contrast that defined the Knicks’ defeat Tuesday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo played like a superstar and Karl-Anthony Towns played like he didn’t belong on the same court.
Towns continued his miserable start to this season with just eight points on 2-of-12 shooting in 35 minutes, a stat line that doomed the Knicks to a 121-111 loss in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.
Antetokounmpo, the big 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 back KAT in a trade for Antetokounmpo, they better hope Tuesday’s tape isn’t under consideration. It was ugly for Towns, who committed three turnovers with just one assist and has looked lost in the new offense under Mike Brown.
Even with Towns’ struggles, the Knicks (2-2), losers of two straight, kept the game close before the offense went dead for good midway through the fourth quarter. That’s also when a worst-case scenario looked like a possibility, when Jalen Brunson crumbled to court in pain after appearing to hurt his groin.
It looked painful, and potentially devastating to early-season plans for the Knicks, but Brunson returned after the timeout. He limped through the final six minutes, however, and the Knicks were outscored by 10 during that time.
Brunson (36 points) and Mikal Bridges (24 points) were the only offensive weapons for the Knicks, especially with Towns in a slump.
They 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 took a 12-point lead into the break.
“It’ll be interesting,” Brown said of recovering from Sunday’s defeat against the Heat. “We’re on a road trip. We’re missing some guys, we’re figuring some things out. Miami is a good team. It’ll be a great test for us to see what we do tonight. I like the group. I think they’re strong-willed. It’ll be great to see how we handle that loss.
“But real adversity — you’ll know when it comes. It’s three or four losses in a row. Then it’s see what we got, see what we’re made of. Are we going to still believe in each other and the process? Or one guy go this way, and another guy go that way?”
The Knicks sometimes responded well. And other times? Not so much.
The third quarter was an offensive misadventure and Towns became 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.
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. He played well with 16 points in 40 minutes. Bucks coach Doc Rivers, whose squad went 0-3 against the Knicks last season, said he was game-planning against the 3-pointer.
“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,” 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. “He just causes everybody to pay attention to him all the time. And you can’t just do it with one guy. With as talented as he is, it’s literally five guys who have to guard the basketball. That holds true more with him than anybody else just because he’s so long, smart and strong. He can finish in traffic. So you’ve got to show him bodies early.”
