Knicks advance to NBA Cup quarterfinals with 118-109 win over Bucks

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News on Nov 28, 2025

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NEW YORK — With 3:58 left in a two-point game on Friday night, Madison Square Garden watched its Knicks teeter on the edge.

They had just detonated a 13-point run to open the fourth quarter — a burst that blew the game wide open — only to give nearly all of it back in a matter of minutes. Now, clinging to a one-possession lead, the Knicks looked like they were losing the rope.

The fans felt it. So they did what Garden fans do when the moment calls for it: they roared “Let’s go, Knicks!” in a full-throated chant that shook the building.

The Knicks heard it — hard not to when nearly 20,000 people are barking the same three words — and they answered. New York closed the door on Milwaukee in a 118-109 victory, pushing its NBA Cup record to 3-1 and advancing to the quarterfinals, where they will play the 4-0 Toronto Raptors on Dec. 9, with a trip to Las Vegas and a spot in the Cup semifinals on the line.

M-V-P chants followed shortly after.

Fifteen games into the NBA season, Knicks head coach Mike Brown says Jalen Brunson belongs in the MVP conversation. After Game 16, Brunson made his new coach look like the smartest person in the room.

The Knicks’ All-Star guard erupted for 37 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from downtown. Brunson entered Friday averaging 30 points on better than 50% shooting over his previous five games. He picked up where he left off in the rematch against Milwaukee — one month after the Bucks handled the Knicks in a 10-point win at Fiserv Forum.

“Obviously, he’s an All-Star, he’s a guy that should definitely be in the conversation for Player of the Year,” Brown said ahead of tipoff against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. “It’s no surprise. If you’re around the guy, and you see his work ethic, and you know his intensity and all that other stuff, it’s definitely not a surprise.

“The biggest thing is are you willing to do it in an environment where he’s not logging a ton of minutes and/or he’s not working extremely hard to get [his points],” Brown continued. “We like how he’s scoring — he’s scoring in a variety of different ways: He’s got some catch-and-shoot, he’s getting to the rim, he’s coming off of [dribble hand-offs], he’s playing some pick-and-roll, he playing some iso. It’s continuing to try and move him around while watching his minutes and not eating him up or not relying on him to carry us home all the time is really what we’re trying to focus on.”

That night, Giannis Antetokounmpo bulldozed his way to 37 points on six misses during a dominant second half. Friday night was different. The Greek Freak returned after a four-game absence due to a groin injury, played limited minutes under a clear load-management plan, and picked up two fouls in the first 90 seconds of the game. He finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in just 28 minutes of action.

“They’re starting to find their way a little bit. Record-wise they may not be sitting where they want to at all, but their last game out against Miami, they played hard,” Brown said of the Bucks ahead of tipoff on Friday. “They could have easily won that game. So they’re young guys are starting to really step up and understand how they can have some success in the league. A guy like Rollins caught you off guard initially. And not anymore. He busted out behind up in Milwaukee and he’s gotten a couple other teams too. He’s got their number too. All their guys play extremely hard and they’re very talented and they come to play.”

Yet Brunson had the last laugh. His production has been necessary for a Knicks team attempting to stave off the injury bug. OG Anunoby has been out since Nov. 15 with a hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated this weekend. Landry Shamet sprained his shoulder on Nov. 22 in Orlando and is at least three weeks away.

And while the Knicks struggled out of the gate on the defensive end, conceding nine 3s on 13 attempts in the first quarter, the Bucks never truly pulled away at any point. Even more encouraging, the Knicks picked up a much-needed win despite Karl-Anthony Towns logging just nine points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes of action.

The Knicks will get an NBA Cup preview of sorts when they host the Raptors on Sunday. Toronto has been off to a storybook start to the season with a 14-5 record.