Will the real Elfrid Payton stand up?
One night after the Knicks starting point made his worst performance as a Knick in a scoreless disaster, he came out on Sunday to attack the powerful Bucks with a stunning 130-110 that gave Tom Thibodeau his first win as head coach of the Knicks.
It was not a dream. Payton, who slowly started the season on social media, earned 26 points, getting his three triples and shooting 12 of 16.
Payton also handed out three assists. His last two triples in the third reduced the game. Payton’s biggest weakness is his misery from outside the arc, as he shot just 21% last season.
Payton wasn’t the only Knick who looked like a new man as “The Greek Freak” received a lot of humble cake in the garden. Even Sunday’s defensive point Frank Ntilikina came off the bench to punch the four three-point shots.
RJ Barrett also left Saturday’s clunkfest behind with 17 points. And Julius Randle continued his stellar play (27 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists) and was not ashamed to defend Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was retired early in the fourth quarter as a sign of surrender.
Too bad the garden was mostly desolate because this one could go down as one of the few highlights of the season as the Knicks went 1-2 after double-digit defeats against Indiana and Philadelphia in which they collapsed in the second half.
In contrast, Sunday’s Knicks only improved in the second half, getting a 28-point lead early in the fourth quarter after taking a 61-45 lead at the break.
Antetokounmpo was “held back” by 25 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the Knicks broke their four-game losing streak against Milwaukee.
The Knicks will not play in the field again in 2020, as they begin a four-game road trip starting Tuesday in Cleveland and continue on to Tampa for a New Year’s Eve battle against the Raptors before finish the trip in Indiana and Atlanta.
The Knicks added an 11-0 run late in the first half that ended Alec Burks ’triple. Randle then buried an unbalanced triple, last second, as the Knicks took that 16-point lead at the break.
It was an exciting rebounding performance from both Payton and Barrett, who were terrible at the premiere against Sixers. Burks also came off the bench to fall by a smooth 18 points (15 in the first half).
The unfortunate Payton had no goals Saturday night, going 0 for 6 and losing all of his triples while getting just one assist.
On Sunday, Payton hit two first floats and then drew a rare point of 3. At the break, he had amassed 11 points and three assists.
The top play was a disaster against the Sixers, but he straightened up spectacularly against Milwaukee. With Dennis Smith Jr. coming out with a quadricomple, Ntilikina inherited the backup role and delivered 18 strong minutes from the bench when he swept from the bottom, 4 of 4 from the 3-point line.
Barrett was a bigger disaster than Payton Saturday in a 2 out of 15 brickfest. He remained aggressive and took the road to his points on Sunday.
Antetokounmpo scored on the first possession, receiving a rebound pass from Khris Middletown and putting it. But the Knicks controlled mostly the “Greek Freak,” preventing it from destroying the edge.
The Bucks were also a horrible 8 of 38 from the 3-point line. The Knicks shook off a terrible three-point shooting performance on Saturday to analyze the 15 of 26 against Milwaukee.
“The most important thing is the way he attacks the painting,” Thibodeau previously said of the Bucks superstar. “It can’t be guarded individually: we have to protect it with our team. Therefore, it will require a great effort, multiple efforts ”.
The effort was there this time for four quarters.