3 Takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks ugly win vs New York Knicks

The Milwaukee Bucks won a close game against the New York Knicks Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden, certainly an ugly win but a win nonetheless. The Milwaukee Bucks overcame some dreadful first half shooting, 19-of-51 (37.3 percent) on field goals and just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) behind the 3-point line to win a game that came down to the last minute.

Thankfully this game was a tale of two halves as far as field goal shooting goes for the Bucks, in the second half the Bucks made 20-of-39 field goals (51.3 percent) and 6-of-13 on 3-pointers (46.2 percent) including the game clinching shot by Grayson Allen, who is the first takeaway.

Takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks ugly win vs New York Knicks: The Bucks need to keep Grayson Allen

Grayson Allen certainly cooled off from his crazy hot shooting from Sunday night, however still put his stamp all over this win over the Knicks. Grayson spent almost the entire game driving to the basket either looking to finish or drop off a pass to a teammate, a very underrated aspect of his game and one that Steve Novak loved talking about during the broadcast.

Grayson Allen finished the night with four assists and probably could have had more if not for a couple passes that weren’t reeled in or some fouls by the Knicks. Grayson also grabbed five rebounds.

On to scoring, Grayson Allen scored 11 points in this game, not a point total that leaps off the page, however Grayson Allen made one 3-point shot and it was the biggest shot of the entire game. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson had just made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game at 103, Giannis was not in the game, Khris Middleton is still out, the Milwaukee Bucks need a closer, and Grayson Allen stepped up. Jrue Holiday swung the ball around to Grayson who turned and passed to Brook Lopez, Grayson followed the pass to Brook who handed the ball off, RJ Barrett went under Brook Lopez giving Grayson the space he needed to shoot essentially the game winning shot.

I wrote yesterday about Grayson Allen’s catch and shoot prowess and how the Bucks could essentially use him the way they would have used Jordan Clarkson, and there was no better time for Grayson to show that he is important to this team.

Not only did Grayson hit the dagger against the Knicks, he tied a career high in 3-pointers made against Dallas and he sits atop the NBA in some defensive metrics as well. Grayson Allen is currently number one in defensive rating for players that have played over 15 minutes per game for at least 15 games. Staying with the same criteria, Grayson is third in defensive win shares, surrounded by his teammates, Jrue Holiday, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, who together occupy the top four spots in the NBA.

The Milwaukee Bucks need to keep Grayson Allen.