3 Big & 3 Small Takeaways from Knicks' Blowout Win vs. Bucks

With the Knicks’ 117-85 win over the Bucks on Tuesday, they have won four straight games and head into Wednesday’s tilt with the Cavs looking for another dominant win. They have allowed fewer than 100 points in four of their last five games, and the one game they allowed more than 100 points was in a 135-105 win vs. the Bulls last Wednesday.

Things are looking grand for the Knicks at the moment. After a rough start to the season, they’re top 10 in offensive rating (116.9), defensive rating (108.3), and net rating (+8.7). They are boasting a 122.5 ORTG, 107.0 DRTG, and +15.4 NETRTG over their latest 6-1 stretch, which dates back to their first win of the season on Oct. 27 vs. the Pistons.

Without further ado, here are some takeaways from the Knicks’ blowout win vs. the Bucks.

Big takeaway: The center rotation is a juggernaut on the boards

The Knicks’ top two centers, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond, combined to haul in 30 rebounds for the team in their 32-point win. Towns had 16 rebounds, and Drummond had 14 rebounds; he did all of that in just 15:39 on the floor.

The Knicks, in total, pulled down 18 offensive rebounds vs. the Bucks, one game after recording 16 offensive rebounds against the Cavs. Five of those 18 came from Drummond and three came from KAT. The team had a 41.9% OREB% on Tuesday... and if you break that up, it was a 37.5% OREB% with Towns on the floor (27:16) and a whopping 50.0% OREB% with Drummond on the floor—yes, that means the Knicks rebounded half of their misses on the offensive end with him out there.

For the season, the Knicks have the best OREB% (38.8%) and second-best DREB% (73.0%) in the NBA, according to NBA.com. Still, it seemed like a weird night for KAT, but not on the boards, at least.

Towns was fouled a bunch, but he missed five of his 14 free-throw attempts he had. After he missed a free throw with 8:24 left in the game, he was visibly upset with himself during a Bucks’ timeout. He was 5-of-14 from the field, totaling 21 points. He was 2-of-9 from beyond the arc—his third game as a Knick with at least nine three-point attempts and a sub-25% success rate from three.

Small takeaway: Deuce McBride makes a huge impact

Deuce McBride found himself at the top of the stat sheet for the Knicks on Tuesday, but it wasn’t because he was making loads of threes and scoring a ton. He did make two threes on the night, but he also had three assists and a steal.

McBride was a game-high +39, as the Knicks had a 160.9 ORTG (71.2% TS%), 79.5 DRTG, and +81.3 NETRTG in the 25:21 he was on the floor. They had a 104.9 ORTG and -11.4 NETRTG in the 22:39 he sat.

His +39 plus-minus is the highest plus-minus mark by a Knick in a single game since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round in Atlanta, when OG Anunoby (+42), Jalen Brunson (+41), and Mikal Bridges (+40) each won their minutes by 40+ points in the team’s 140-89 win.

Also, McBride has been showing some mid-range capabilities so far this season. He’s shooting 42.9% on mid-range shots this season, up from 37.8% last season. It’s pretty neat of him to continue to evolve in each season of his NBA career.

Big takeaway: Tyler Kolek solidifies backup PG spot

Tyler Kolek once again played superbly for the Knicks in their backup point guard role, and it wasn’t necessarily because of his court vision. He scored 12 points (5-of-6 shooting, 2-of-3 from three) in the win, and that was his sixth time as an NBA player with double-digit points in a game. The last time? March 22 of this year vs. the Wizards, when he infamously played two games in a single day, scoring 47 points in a G League game prior to his NBA action.

The Knicks flourished in his minutes on Tuesday, winning by 23 points with him on the floor. They had a 156.0 ORTG (60.9% TS%), 59.3 DRTG, and +96.7 NETRTG in his 15:06 of game action.

Tyler Kolek in 15 minutes tonight

12 points
3 rebounds
4 assists
5-6 FG
+23 pic.twitter.com/P15NG7QDWk
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) November 11, 2026

On the season, Kolek has been on the floor for the Knicks for 203 possessions. The Knicks have a 124.1 ORTG, 100.5 DRTG, and +23.6 NETRTG in the Kolek-led minutes. With play that’s so positive like that, he’ll continue in his backup point guard role over Jose Alvarado, who was playing garbage-time minutes for the Knicks on Tuesday.

Small takeaway: OG puts together a good all-around performance

The minutes from OG Anunoby were an all-around success on Tuesday, as the Knicks won his minutes by 26 points. They had a 132.1 ORTG, 88.9 DRTG, and +44.3 NETRTG across the 28:54 he was on the floor vs. the Bucks.

Coming into the game, the Knicks had a 112.8 ORTG, 115.6 DRTG, and -2.8 NETRTG across the 601 possessions that OG had been on the floor this season. Now, they’re at least winning his minutes on the year with a +1.1 NETRTG in 657 possessions.

Anunoby scored 19 points on Tuesday, going 6-of-12 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. It was his first game with at least five makes from three-point territory since Game 4 of the NBA Finals vs. the Spurs—which ended with his game-winning tip-in.

It was encouraging for him to have most of his success from three on the night be on above-the-break three-pointers, making 3-of-5 of those. He entered the game shooting just 28.1% on above-the-break three-pointers on the season.

Big takeaway: Mikal Bridges falters once again

We’re now 10 games into the 2026-27 season, and Mikal Bridges has still failed to get it going on the offensive end. On Tuesday, he had just four points, going 2-of-6 from the field and not attempting a single three-pointer. He played just 17 minutes and 18 seconds in the win, marking the third time this season he’s played fewer than 20 minutes.

During the regular season last year, he had just two games where he played fewer than 20 minutes: December 5, 2025 vs. Utah (19:53), when the Knicks won by 34, and the regular-season finale vs. the Hornets on April 12, when he played just the first 23 seconds of the game to keep his ironman streak going. With his play this season, it’s totally logical to expect him to continue getting his minutes cut.

On Tuesday, the Knicks had just a 97.0 ORTG (43.2% TS%), 109.1 DRTG, and -12.1 NETRTG with Bridges on the floor, compared to a 157.4 ORTG (67.5% TS%), 90.7 DRTG, and +66.7 NETRTG in the 30:42 he was riding the pine. Again, the Knicks perform much worse when Bridges is out there than when he isn't.

Through 10 games this season, the Knicks have a 103.6 ORTG, 50.6% TS%, and -5.1 NETRTG in the 499 possessions that Bridges has been on the floor. They have a 131.8 ORTG, 60.5% TS%, and +24.1 NETRTG in the 447 possessions that Bridges has been off the floor.

How much longer can the Knicks afford for Bridges to be this much of a liability?

Small takeaway: Pacome Dadiet showed some flashes

Pacome Dadiet played the final five minutes and 46 seconds of Tuesday’s game, and he looked pretty good! He had eight points (3-of-5 shooting) with one made three-pointer and an and-one bucket.

Hold the line pic.twitter.com/OM1fIFockE
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) November 11, 2026

In fact, Dadiet has shot 55.6% (5-of-9) from the field this season, posting a 63.6% TS% in the roughly 16 minutes he’s played for the Knicks over 10 games. Is any other team watching this? Specifically, one that has a useful player for the Knicks to trade for?

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