Milwaukee Bucks were in an obvious letdown spot in New York City on Friday night. Milwaukee faced off against the New York Knicks which was sandwiched between big games against Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers. The Bucks of years past have been susceptible to letdowns like this one. The good thing is this is a different team. Milwaukee punished New York, 123-102 to win their second straight game and their 20th in their last 21.

Player of the Game: Brook Lopez – This could be a major development for the Bucks’ offense in the next few months. Lopez found his three-point stroke last night. He made four 3-pointers last night to a tune of 50%. This is the first time all season that Lopez has made four threes. Let’s hope that this is only the beginning for him. He had a day on the other side of the ball too with seven rebounds and seven blocks. Lopez is a legit Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

Honorable Mention: Khris Middleton – Giannis had a triple-double, and I’ll get to that in a second. But Khris Middleton had himself a night too. Middleton scored 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He was +35 for the game which led Milwaukee. Does this help the case that Middleton only does this against bad teams? Yes, sadly, but just remember those people suck.

One Thing I Liked: Giannis’ Taking The Night Off – Listen, Giannis had 22 points and a triple-double but he didn’t have a desire to score the basketball. Giannis decided not to exert the energy and spread the ball around. Giannis only attempted 10 shots and I believe that is on purpose. Not only does it rest Giannis a bit but it also gets some of the other guys rolling on offense like Lopez.

Next up: Milwaukee will try to keep their undefeated BTB record alive at the Fiserv Forum for a showdown with the Indiana Pacers. This is the return of Malcolm Brogdon. I’m sure Bucks Reddit and Twitter would like it if he’s not booed. I agree with that but also if you want to boo, go for it. I’m not entirely into boo-shaming. This will be a tough one for Milwaukee. They bullied Indiana the last time these two teams met, but Pacers were nowhere near full strength.

Charlie.