Knicks vs. Bucks Preview: How, Who to Watch in Christmas Rematch

The New York Knicks will look to finally get the best of the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday afternoon.

There hasn't been much peace in the New York Knicks' world and it'll be anything but a silent night if they fall to the Milwaukee Bucks again. 

Just over 48 hours after dropping their third game contest in as many tries to Milwaukee this season, the Knicks will have an immediate, high-profile opportunity to make things right. New York faces the Bucks in the opener to the NBA's five-game Christmas Day slate on Monday afternoon and will hope for a chance to make a statement. Of the Knicks' dozen losses so far this season, seven have come against current conference leaders from Milwaukee, Boston, or Minnesota.

The Knicks will extend their record by playing in their 56th Christmas Day game, posing a 23-32 record over their previous holiday outings. They previously faced the Bucks on Dec. 25 in 2018, which saw the Bucks prevail by a 109-95 final.

What: Milwaukee Bucks (22-7) @ New York Knicks (16-12)

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

When/Watch: Monday, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN

Who's Favored: MIL -2.5

Wendell Cruz, USA TODAY SPORTS

Keep An Eye On: Jalen Brunson

Games like these are why the Knicks signed Brunson. As anemic as they've looked on defense since Mitchell Robinson went down, the Knicks have proven at least somewhat capable of surviving in shootouts, particularly thanks to the newly-formed career-best scoring highs for the Knicks' franchise face. With many wondering what Brunson needs to do to secure, a new kind of Christmas spectacular blocks away from Radio City Music Hall would certainly go a long way.

Buck to Watch: Brook Lopez

Milwaukee has used the outside to their advantage in their wins over the Knicks, often relying on deep-ball experts Damian Lillard and Malik Beasley. Robinson's injury, however, opens an opportunity for recurring antagonist Lopez, who started his lengthy career off with the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets franchise. The closest opportunity the Knicks had to beat the Bucks this season was thwarted by Lopez, whose season-best eight blocks prevented New York from completing a comeback from as high as 14 down.

They Said It

“They’ve got a lot of weapons, so you’ve got to fly around and there’s times where we did it and times where we didn’t do it as well as we should have. But every aspect of the game we were a step behind.”-Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau on the Bucks (h/t Brian Mahoney, Associated Press)

Knicks' Reindeer Pains Continue, Fall to Bucks

Prediction

The Knicks' prime opportunity to beat the Bucks likely came on Saturday, in the uncertain world of weekend afternoon games. High-profile matches like Christmas are days for the stars to rise, to live up to their potential. To that end, Monday seems like a chance for both sides to make a statement. At this point in time, Milwaukee is more capable of such an announcement.

Bucks 125, Knicks 112