Larry Drews debut as Bucks head coach got off to a slow start. He watched his team
Larry Drew
fall behind by 25 points before losing 90-83 to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The Bucks lost starting point guard Brandon Knight to a hamstring injury early in the first quarter. Meanwhile, veteran point guard Luke Ridnour was already a pregame scratch because of back spasms. That left rookie second round draft pick Nate Wolters to run the ship.
Wolters played 30 minutes, scoring nine points and dishing out four assists. Gary Neal also played the point as well, scoring a team high 16 points and adding five assists.
The Bucks played much better in the second half, taking the 25-point deficit and chipping away before eventually leading 81-80 last in the 4th quarter. But the Bucks run ended there as the Knicks finished on a 10-2 run to win it.
Carmelo Anthony had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Knicks.
Caron Butler added 14 points and reserve Zaza Pachulia added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks.
The Bucks bench performed well, out scoring their starters 54-29. Bucks center Larry Sanders played just 12 minutes due to foul trouble, which didn’t help.
The Bucks face the Celtics in Boston on Friday night before returning to Milwaukee for their home opener on Saturday against Toronto.