Knicks' Bench Beats Bucks 102-90
The injury-depleted New York Knicks didn't have any depth problems Thursday night, getting big boosts from reserves Brooks Thompson and Terry Cummings in a 102-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Thompson scored a season-high 11 points and helped the Knicks pull ahead for good in the second quarter. Cummings had a season-high 18 to help New York maintain a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
New York avoided being swept by the Bucks in the four-game season series.
Thompson shot 4-for-6 with two 3-pointers, four rebounds and two assists, and Cummings, acquired from Philadelphia a week earlier, shot 6-for-11 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line in his fourth game with New York.
John Starks added 11 as the Knicks had a 30-17 advantage in bench scoring. It helped make up for a 40-27 rebounding deficit in the Knicks' first game since losing backup center Chris Dudley to a possibly season-ending foot injury.
Allan Houston scored 19 points, Chris Mills had 18 and Charles Oakley, the Knicks' new starting center, had 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Charlie Ward added a season-high 10 assists and five steals.
Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson scored 26 apiece for the Bucks, who had won their three previous games against the Knicks this season.
Thompson, backing up at point guard because of an injury to Chris Childs, checked in at the start of the second quarter with the Knicks ahead 28-20. He made both of his shots and grabbed two rebounds in his first three minutes, then fed Starks for a 3-pointer that gave the Knicks a 40-24 lead.
The lead grew as high as 20 and New York stayed comfortably ahead until Milwaukee used an 8-0 run early in the fourth to pull to 82-72.
The two newest Knicks subs ended the run, with Thompson making a 3-pointer with 8:36 left, then grabbing a defensive rebound that led to a three-point play by Cummings for an 88-72 lead with 7:38 left.
Thompson and Cummings got the loudest ovation of the night when they checked out with 4:11 remaining.
Notes: Herb Williams, re-signed by the Knicks on Wednesday, did not play. ... Childs is day-to-day with an ankle sprain. ... Bucks point guard Terrell Brandon, on the injured list with a sprained left ankle, will have a cast removed Monday. ... The teams were playing each other for the third time in 29 days.
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