Madison Square Garden Arena.
The New York Knicks host the Milwaukee Bucks.
For the Knicks, the trio of Zhao Feiyang is still responsible for positions one to three, while positions four and five are occupied by DeMarcus Cousins and Dwight Howard.
For the Bucks, Eric Bledsoe plays the one position, Malcolm Brogdon plays the second position, the third position is handed over to Khris Middleton, and the fourth and fifth positions are taken by Antetokounmpo Giannis and Brook Lopez are in charge.
The game started soon.
Although the team lost a game, the morale of the Knicks was still high and they were not depressed by this lost game.
Perhaps due to morale reasons and the team's home court advantage, the Knicks' offense scored one after another after the start of the first quarter.
Zhao Feiyang led the team to attack, and his left-right shooting with Zach LaVine quickly helped the team open up the situation from the outside.
Adrian Ennis's performance was also very stable, seizing the opportunity from the wing position to break through and shoot in two zones.
The performance of the three helped the team lead the opponent.
But with one-third left in the first quarter, the situation on the court quietly changed. After the Bucks adapted to the Knicks' rhythm, Antetokounmpo Giannis began to become the most powerful offensive point on the court.
call out.
The Bucks serve.
Bledsoe held the ball past half-court, and as soon as it crossed the center line, Zhao Feiyang immediately came over to guard and interfere. In a flurry, Bledsoe transferred the ball away.
Snapped.
The basketball fell into the hands of Middleton on the wing.
Middleton wanted to fight Adrian alone. The two faced each other, and Adrian got up and got into a stance. Middleton tried twice and found it difficult to get rid of Adrian, so he threw the ball to Antetokounmpo Giannis near the penalty area.
Antetokounmpo Giannis was playing singles with the ball. Facing interference from Dwight Howard, Giannis turned around and pulled away to pretend to take a shot.
Howard jumped up to interfere, but Giannis just took a feint shot, avoided Howard, and then switched steps and entered the basket.
Once again, his long wingspan comes into play.
Throw the basketball directly when there is still some distance from the basket.
Uh-huh.
The basketball fell steadily into the basket.
It's the Knicks' turn to attack.
Zhao Feiyang advanced with the ball and was double-teamed after halftime. He gave the ball to LaVine, who rushed into the two zones under Howard's cover. Unexpectedly, as soon as he threw the ball, Giannis suddenly came out of the way and slapped the ball away.
Snapped.
This big hit was too sudden.
Under normal circumstances, he can't be blocked, but Giannis' wingspan advantage is indeed not comparable to that of ordinary players.
The basketball hit the backboard and bounced off.
It was Howard who went up to grab it again. He and Giannis jumped up in mid-air at the same time. One of his hands had already reached the basketball, but the next second Giannis just snatched the ball from him.
Snapped.
Giannis took the ball and threw it decisively.
Malcolm held the ball and counterattacked quickly, and Zhao Feiyang and LaVine caught up to defend at the same time. Seeing the opponent rushing into the basket for a 1-on-2, the next second Giannis rushed from behind, caught the pass while running, and smashed the ball with one hand.
boom.
The ball went in.
The whole audience exclaimed.
Antetokounmpo's offense really made the Knicks feel very uncomfortable.
With his core lineup missing, Antetokounmpo has undoubtedly become the Knicks' biggest threat.
If Howard were a few years younger, it would not be a problem to defend Antetokounmpo, but he is almost 33 years old now, and it is really not easy to stop the 25-year-old Antetokounmpo!
call out.
The referee's whistle sounded, and the first quarter of both sides ended quickly.
The score between the Bucks and the Knicks was 36-30, with the Bucks leading by 6 points.
In the first quarter, Antetokounmpo Giannis scored a game-high 16 points, and his teammate Malcom scored 10 points.
These two are the Bucks’ best performers.
For the Knicks, Zhao Feiyang's performance was still stable, scoring 11 points, LaVine scored 9 points, and Adrian scored 7 points.
Howard played the entire first quarter, but he only scored a measly 2 points and only had 2 rebounds.
In the matchup with Antetokounmpo Giannis, Howard's state cannot be said to be bad, but it is indeed very average. Especially in terms of rebounding, he simply cannot compete with rising stars like Antetokounmpo.
Break time.
Head coach Thomas also began to make adjustments to the lineup.
"Our current problems are all inside, Giannis is the biggest threat...Dwight will rest in the next quarter, DeMarcus, you go to guard Giannis! Mitchell, you go to the five position ..."
Coach Thomas replaced Mitchell Robinson as substitute, Cousins continued to play with Jeremy Lin and Dennis Jr., and the wing position was also replaced by Kevin Knox.
Soon the second quarter begins.
The Bucks also made adjustments.
Logically speaking, they should have let Giannis rest, but the team seemed to want to beat the Knicks, so not only did Giannis not come off, but guard Bledsoe was not replaced either.
call out.
The game begins again.
The Bucks continued to attack.
Bledsoe advanced with the ball, and after halftime he looked for opportunities at the top of the arc.
Jeremy Lin went up to guard, and the two met each other. Bledsoe used Giannis' high screen to rush into the two zones. Before Jeremy Lin could react, Giannis also rushed into the basket.
Cousins, who was marking him, reacted quickly and got in to block Giannis as he rushed to the basket.
Unfortunately, he underestimated Giannis' flexibility. He turned around to avoid Cousins' interference, and when Cousins stretched out his hand, he smashed the ball into the basket with a one-handed dunk.
boom.
The ball went in.
Cousins looked unhappy after failing to guard Giannis.
It was the Knicks' turn to serve.
Jeremy Lin held the ball past half-court. As soon as he passed, to his surprise, Cousins took the initiative to catch the ball. I saw him blocking Giannis and standing outside the penalty area on the left side of the basket.
"Give me the ball!"
Cousins shouted to Jeremy Lin.
Jeremy Lin hesitated, and after much thought, he still did not give the ball to Cousins.
After all, Jeremy Lin dared to "refuse" when Kobe asked him for the ball.
Snapped.
The basketball was given to teammate Knox. However, after Knox got the ball, he did not intend to confront the opponent head-on. Instead, he threw the ball into Cousins' hands.
Cousins got the ball and hit Giannis in a single.
The two met face to face, Cousins first gained some physical strength, found that he could not threaten Giannis, and then decisively accelerated to the basket. Even though he threw the ball one step ahead, the moment he threw the basketball, Giannis still swooped up and slapped the ball away.
Snapped.
The basketball flew directly out of bounds.
Giannis' "shattering shot" directly caused the entire Madison Square Garden Arena to scream.
