The first quarter belonged to Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. The second quarter belonged to Karl-Anthony Towns. And OG Anunoby put the finishing touches on the Knicks' best performance since the All-Star break — a 127-98 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) on Friday. Hart scored 10 points in the game’s opening five minutes against a Doc Rivers defensive scheme that ...

Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks dribbles the ball against Kevin Porter Jr. of the Milwaukee Bucks during the third quarter at Fiserv Forum on Feb. 27, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images North America/TNS

The first quarter belonged to Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. The second quarter belonged to Karl-Anthony Towns. And OG Anunoby put the finishing touches on the Knicks' best performance since the All-Star break — a 127-98 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) on Friday.

Hart scored 10 points in the game’s opening five minutes against a Doc Rivers defensive scheme that ignored him behind the 3-point line, and Brunson pounced after his teammate lit it up from deep to start the game.

The Knicks' captain scored 22 points in the opening period and finished with 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range to go with seven rebounds and three assists.

The performance marked Brunson’s 10th career 20-point quarter, all 10 coming with the Knicks.

The Knicks completed their three-game road trip with a 2-1 record following Sunday’s victory over the Chicago Bulls and Tuesday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And after scoring just 94 points in a miserable shooting performance against the Cavs, the Knicks were clicking on all cylinders when the ball found the bottom of the net on Friday.

“Probably just ball movement and then shoot with confidence. We made shots today,” Anunoby said in his walk-off interview after the game. “That’s how it goes: Sometimes you miss some shots. Next thing you know, you make them. That’s how it goes, but just taking the right shots [and] moving the ball.”

The Knicks scored 77 points in the first half, tied for the second-most a first half of the season. They shot 6 of 9 from deep in the first quarter, 7 of 13 in the second and 4 of 8 from downtown in the decisive third quarter. All five Knicks starters scored in double figures for the 15th time this season.

Towns finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds and scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the second quarter alone. Anunoby hit five 3s for 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field against the Bucks, and Landry Shamet came off the bench to hit five 3s for 15 points. Anunoby scored 15 points in the third quarter to help weather a Bucks second-half run.

“Just knowing they’re a great team coming out,” Anunoby said. “Trying to get stops and just play fast and play in transition.”

The Knicks made 17 of their first 30 attempts from deep on Friday and finished the game 21 of 41 from downtown for their second-most 3-pointers in a game of the season.

They shot 10 of 37 from deep in Tuesday’s loss to the Cavaliers, 12 of 31 in their two-point victory over the Houston Rockets, and 8 of 35 in the 15-point loss to the Detroit Pistons without centers Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart.

“Any game you win is big time. Winning in the NBA is very hard so we never take it for granted but the momentum going back home to protect home court,” Anunoby said. “It’s cool but we play again on Sunday, so I’m just ready for the next game.”

Former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner scored team-high 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the Bucks, and Kyle Kuzma added 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but the Knicks held Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins to 11 and 13 points, respectively.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers emptied his bench with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter and his team down 32. Shortly after, the Bucks crowd erupted as Mike Brown called second-year guard Tyler Kolek to the scorer’s table. Kolek, a Marquette product, turned the ball over on his first possession but finished with three points in five minutes.

The Knicks picked up a much-needed win over a Bucks team with a losing record.

Next up, the Knicks host Victor Wembanyama and the Western Conference’s No. 2 seeded San Antonio Spurs.