ArEA YOu FrEAK-ING KIDDING?!
Bucks star nails buzzer-beater, hands Knicks 6th straight loss
KNIcKSK bLOW 16-POINT LEAD, LOSE 6TH STrAIGHT ON GIANNIS JuMPEr AT buZZEr /
That was a heartbreaker. The Knicks’ losing streak hit six games as they got “freaked’’ out in the fourth quarter.
NBA’s new superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo stunned the Garden with a buzzer-beating 15-foot fadeaway from the foul line over Lance Thomas, capping their comeback and pulling off a Bucks’ 105-104 victory.
Milwaukee rallied from 14 points down after three quarters as the “Greek Freak’’ finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds.
“It’s a tough night, a tough pill to swallow,’’ Carmelo Anthony said.
Tougher because there’s debate whether Antetokounmpo’s last-second antics were even legal as he dribbled down in the paint for an eternity before backing out for the fadeway. He likely violated an obscure, rarely called, five-second rule — and some Knicks made vague references to it.
“He dribbled the ball eight, nine, 10 times, did a stepback fadeaway,’’ Thomas said. “I don’t know many guys in the league that can block his fadeaway.”
For his part, Antetokounmpo said the final play was for veteran Jason Terry, but he wasn’t open.
“I work on that shot a lot,’’ said Antetokounmpo, who defied the “Sports Illustrated” cover jinx. “I was patient. I knew I could shoot the ball over the top of anybody at any time.’’
The Knicks elected not to double-team Antetokounmpo on the play.
Anthony was smooth, finishing with nearly a tripledouble (30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists), but he missed his last three shots late — any of which could have been the dagger.
Anthony, too, referenced Antetokounmpo’s marathon dribbling. The fivesecond violation may be called when a player is guarded closely for five seconds and either does not pass, shoot or dribble.
“I don’t think Lance could’ve played better defense than he did,’’ Anthony said. “He had the ball for a lot of seconds, but that’s another story.’’
The Knicks, outscored 32-17 in the fourth quarter, fell to 16-19 and play a rematch in Milwaukee (18-16) on Friday.
The Knicks led 87-73 after a terrific third quarter, but the Bucks went on a 14-2 run to start the fourth.
A key turnover by Derrick Rose in the final 10 seconds proved too costly although he may have gotten fouled on the play.
On an inbounds to Rose, with the Knicks up by two, Antetokounmpo swatted the ball away and out of bounds, though the Buck appeared to make contact with Rose. After a replay review, it was ruled Bucks’ ball — off Rose — with 8.8 seconds left, setting up Antetokounmpo’s game-winner.
“I felt like I had the ball, it was a hard swipe down,’’ Rose said. “They don’t get me any calls so I guess I lost the game.’’
Rose finished with 15 points, but was 1-of-6 in the fourth quarter, missing on a lot of drives. The loss wasted a night in which the Knicks made a season-high 13 3-pointers.
“We’re definitely going through adversity right now,’’ said Joakim Noah, who finished with eight points and 16 rebounds, but was taken out briefly with a sore right shoulder. “Losing sucks, but nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We lost six in a row and have to look at ourselves in the mirror and do what we can do to get better.’’
Noah and Thomas exemplified the grit on defense and the Garden resounded with chants of “Kuuuuuz’’ in the first three quarters. With no Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles soreness) for a third straight game and a slumping Anthony needing a boost, an active Mindaugas Kuzminskas dropped in 15 points but played just 1:49 in the fourth.
“We had a big lead, gave it away and it should never have gotten to that point,’’ Thomas said. “We fought so hard the whole game for it to come to the wire. We’re not a team of moral victories.”
“I don’t think we have that killer instinct to make a 15point lead to 20, 25,’’ Kuzminskas said. “Earlier in the season we won these games.’’
Anthony, under the gun for his 10-game shooting slump, felt the Knicks showed the needed fire on defense that previously had been lacking during the losing streak.
“We were much, much more aggressive on the defensive end,’’ Anthony said. “We played differently tonight.’’
The Knicks collapsed last January after a 22-22 start and they look to be on their way to another.
“We’re not going to let anything seep into this locker room as far as negativity,’’ Anthony said.