Will the real Elfrid Payton please stand up?
One night after the Knicks starting point guard put in his worst performance as Knick in a scoreless disaster, he emerged on Sunday to blast the powerhouse Bucks in a blast of 130-110 that gave Tom Thibodeau his first victory as Knicks head coach.
It was not a dream. Payton, whose slow start to the season buzzed social media for his benching, actually scored 26 points, making all three of his three-pointers and shooting 12 of 16.
Payton also provided three assists. His two late 3-pointers in the third essentially salt the game away. Payton’s biggest weakness is his off-arc woes, as he shot just 21 percent from last season.
Payton wasn’t the only Knick to look like a new man, as ‘The Greek Freak’ got a ton of plain pie in the Garden. Even back-up point guard Frank Ntilikina on Sunday came off the bench to practice all four of his three-point shots.
RJ Barrett also put Saturday’s awkward party behind with 17 points. And Julius Randle continued his great play (27 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists) and was not ashamed of defending Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was eliminated early in the fourth quarter in a sign of surrender.
Too bad the Garden was mostly deserted, as this could become one of the few highlights of the season as the Knicks moved to 1-2 after double-digit losses to Indiana and Philadelphia, into which they collapsed in the second half.
Instead, Sunday’s Knicks only got better in the second half, with a 28-point bulge at the start of the fourth after a halftime score of 61-45.
Antetokounmpo was “held” at 25 points, 13 rebounds and five assists when the Knicks broke their four-game losing streak against Milwaukee.
The Knicks will no longer play at the Garden in 2020 as they embark on a four-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Cleveland and continues to Tampa for a New Year’s Eve fight against the Raptors before finishing the trip in Indiana and Atlanta.
The Knicks put in an 11-0 run late in the first half that was capped by Alec Burks’ 3-pointer. Then Randle buried an off-balance, last-second 3-pointer as the Knicks took that 16-point lead during the break.
It was a thrilling bounce-back performance from both Payton and Barrett, who were horrible in the home opener against the Sixers. Burks also came off the bench and fell in smooth 18 points – 15 in the first half.
The controversial Payton was winless on Saturday night, going 0 for 6 and missing all his 3-pointers while getting only one assist.
Sunday, Payton hit two early floaters and then drank a rare 3-pointer. By half time he had collected 11 points and three assists.
The point guard game was a disaster against the Sixers, but came spectacularly straight against Milwaukee. With Dennis Smith Jr. eliminated with a bruised quad, Ntilikina inherited the role of backup point guard and delivered 18 strong minutes off the bench as he seared from deep – 4 of 4 from the 3-point line.
Barrett was a bigger disaster than Payton Saturday in a 2 or 15 brickfest. He remained aggressive and worked his way for his points on Sunday.
Antetokounmpo scored on first possession, got a bounce pass from Khris Middletown and put it in. But the Knicks usually controlled the “Greek Freak,” which kept him from destroying the rim.
The Bucks were also a terrible 8 out of 38 from the 3 point line. The Knicks shook off a horrendous 3-point shooting performance on Saturday to drill into 15 of 26 against Milwaukee.
“The most important thing is the way he attacks the paint”, Thibodeau said beforehand about the Bucks superstar. “You can’t guard him individually – we have to guard him with our team. So it will take a lot of effort, several efforts. “
The effort was there for four quarters this time.