AP, New York, Mar 26: Brandon Jennings scored a season-high 37 points, 16 during Milwaukee's second straight dominant start against New York, and the Bucks sent the Knicks to their fifth consecutive loss with a 102-96 victory Friday night.
Andrew Bogut added 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Bucks, who won for the third time in four games and pulled within two games of Indiana for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Less than a week after building a 32-9 lead over New York after one, Milwaukee led by as much as 16 in the first period of this one, beating the Knicks for the ninth time in the last 11 meetings and winning the series for the third straight season.
Amare Stoudemire scored 28 for the Knicks, losers of eight of nine and 7-11 since acquiring Carmelo Anthony, who finished with 25.
New York (35-37) should still make the postseason, but sure isn't looking like a playoff team. The Knicks were held below 100 points for the fifth straight game and were booed multiple times.
Milwaukee held New York to a season-low nine points on 4 of 25 shooting in first quarter of its 100-95 victory Sunday and jumped on the Knicks early again Friday.
Jennings and Carlos Delfino opened the game with 3-pointers, and Bogut blocked shots by Stoudemire and Anthony on New York's first two possessions. The boos were already out when Jennings' second straight basket made it 16-4 less than 5 minutes in, and the Bucks took a 35-24 advantage into the second.
The Knicks spent the rest of the game trying to catch up and got within three points on Stoudemire's two free throws with 7:15 to play. Jennings then made a floater, nailed a 3-pointer, and sank a pair of free throws to extend Milwaukee's lead to 98-88, essentially putting it away.
As the Knicks struggle to deal with the expectations created by the Anthony trade and a schedule of 18 games this month, coach Mike D'Antoni said before the game that 'emotionally the team's a little spent.' He said he needed to find a way to lessen Stoudemire's minutes, two nights after his All-Star forward said he was a little tired after a loss to Orlando.
The Knicks then came out flat, letting Milwaukee shoot 51 percent from the field and 9 of 18 from 3-point range.
In his search for fresh legs, D'Antoni went deep down his bench, using Anthony Carter and Shelden Williams, who have been used sparingly since coming from Denver in the Anthony trade. He also started Toney Douglas in the second half so the Knicks had someone to deal with Jennings' speed.
Jennings was contained for the third quarter, then scored 13 in the final period.
