Knicks Crush Bucks 117-85 as Towns Extends Double-Double Streak to 10
The New York Knicks turned a tight first quarter into a rout on Tuesday night, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 117-85 at Madison Square Garden for their fourth straight victory.
Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 23 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 16 rebounds, and OG Anunoby hit five three-pointers on his way to 19 points as New York pulled away with a 32-13 second quarter and a 32-13 fourth. The win lifted the Knicks to 6-4, with six wins in their last seven games after an 0-3 start to the season.
The margin was the story of the night. New York outrebounded Milwaukee 59-32, won the points in the paint 38-28 and finished 11-4 on second-chance points, turning a game that was close early into a 32-point win. The Associated Press reported that no Knicks starter played more than 28 minutes, with the bench closing out the game on the front end of a back-to-back.
A second-quarter breakaway
The Knicks led by only three early in the second quarter before the game swung decisively. Anunoby and reserve guard Tyler Kolek combined for the next 10 points to make it 36-23, and Kolek scored again to spark another 10-0 run. Brunson and Anunoby then ended the half with consecutive three-pointers, sending New York into the break ahead 58-34.
Kolek finished with 12 points and gave the Knicks a spark off the bench in the second quarter as Brunson’s backup. The second-quarter burst was the difference in a game the Knicks controlled from that point on, even when Milwaukee threatened to make it interesting after the break.
Milwaukee’s third-quarter reply
The Bucks did not go quietly. Milwaukee won the third quarter 38-27, cutting the lead to 85-72 heading into the fourth, and scored the first basket of the final period to get within 11.
New York answered at once. Towns led the reply, and Anunoby buried back-to-back three-pointers to cap a 21-6 run that stretched the lead from 13 to 28, at 106-78. From there the Knicks coasted, with their reserves finishing the job while Brunson rested ahead of the second night of the back-to-back.
Towns moves towards history
Towns’ 21 points and 16 rebounds gave him a double-double in each of the Knicks’ first 10 games of the season. He is only the third Knick ever to open a season with 10 straight double-doubles, joining Walt Bellamy and Willis Reed, and he is now one short of Reed’s franchise record of 11 straight.
It was the latest strong night in a season in which Towns has averaged 13.6 rebounds a game, leading a Knicks side that tops its conference in rebounding percentage. Sofascore’s recap noted New York’s 59-32 advantage on the glass, and a 17-three-pointer night from deep, as the numbers that decided the game.
Brunson, meanwhile, did most of his damage inside the arc, going 6-for-15 on two-pointers and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line on 7-for-18 shooting overall. He added four rebounds and two assists in just under 28 minutes.
The bench and the boards
The rebounding edge was a team effort. Andre Drummond grabbed 14 rebounds in only 15 minutes off the bench, and the Knicks’ second unit closed strongly, with Pacome Dadiet and Kolek combining for 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter.
The win was all the more comfortable given that Josh Hart missed his third straight game, this time because of illness. New York still had five players in double figures and held Milwaukee to 85 points, continuing a run in which the Knicks have kept opponents below 100 points in five straight games.
The result also underlined how quickly the mood around the Knicks has changed. After opening the season 0-3, they have won six of seven, with the defence and the glass doing much of the work. The win over Milwaukee followed Cooper Flagg’s 43-point outburst for Dallas earlier in the week as the latest headline performance of the young NBA season, which is now in full swing after UCLA’s upset of Arizona in the college season opener.
What comes next
The Knicks do not have long to enjoy the win. They are back at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night for the second leg of the back-to-back, against the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Brunson and Towns both kept fresh by the early finish against Milwaukee.
For the Bucks, the defeat is a reminder of how far they have to travel. They were outworked on the glass from the first quarter, when New York won the paint 16-6 and the boards 16-8, and they never found a way back once the second-quarter run put the game out of reach.
How many straight double-doubles does Karl-Anthony Towns have?
Towns has recorded a double-double in each of the Knicks’ first 10 games of the 2026-27 season, the third-longest such run to open a season in franchise history and one short of Willis Reed’s record of 11.
What is the Knicks’ record after beating Milwaukee?
New York improved to 6-4 with the 117-85 win, their fourth straight victory and their sixth win in seven games since an 0-3 start.
Who do the Knicks play next?
The Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the second game of a back-to-back.
