What started out as a good game for the Knicks took a sharp turnaround when Brook Lopez blocked Jalen Brunson’s shot three minutes into the second period and Brunson immediately grabbed him by the shoulder, pointed to the bench and headed down the tunnel to the locker Room.

But after a brief injury scare, he emerged from the tunnel six minutes later, re-entered the game to chants of “MVP” and picked up where he left off – scoring 44 points to secure his second 40-point game of the season Season Knicks’ dominant 140-106 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and the Bucks on Sunday at the Garden.

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 30 points on efficient 10-for-16 shooting. Cameron Payne scored 18 points off the bench. The Knicks (26-14) finally overcame their 3-point slump and finished five points shy of their season high.

Nevertheless, everything was in flux for the Knicks in these minutes without Brunson.

They had already lost four of their last five games. Brunson remains the heartbeat of their offense as their star point guard, even with the addition of Towns. This unit had already had problems before Sunday’s game – especially from outside the arc. And their 2024-25 record reflected that despite constant hype as contenders, the Knicks continued to fail against the top four teams in each conference, even after a nine-game winning streak that ended Jan. 3.

Against the Bucks (20-17), who entered Sunday as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, they took a step to remedy that.

Predictably, Brunson stayed at the core of this solution both before and after heading to the locker room. He scored 23 of the Knicks’ 36 points in the first quarter, hitting 7 of 11 shots, attempting seven free throws and mixing in 3s with shots from inside the arc to provide a balanced mix of points that had been missing in recent games.

Then, when Brunson remained on the bench to start the second quarter, Towns took over.

On November 8, as the Knicks cruised past the Bucks in their first meeting of the season, Towns fired up Lopez before Doc Rivers – in the midst of Milwaukee’s worst game of the season – switched Antetokounmpo to Towns. This matchup once again proved to be in the Bucks’ favor early in Sunday’s game, with Towns being limited to just five points in the first quarter.

But by halftime, Towns had 18 points. He continued with Antetokounmpo on the bench and Bobby Portis taking over defensive duties. Brunson contributed just four points in that frame, but the Knicks didn’t need another 23-point burst. At halftime they built up a lead of 13 points.

A 17-3 run early in the third period helped decide the game. It helped them survive with Brunson in the locker room and then upon his return he poured the final baskets of his newest gem.

This time, the Knicks didn’t blow a double-digit lead against a team that could compete in the transition to May and June. This time they weren’t booed from their home court against either of those teams either.

This seemed a bit more normal for a game. Brunson exited the game with more than five minutes left in the fourth, the injury scare subsided and the chants of “MVP” echoed through the Garden and the Knicks, eventually resembling the version that carried their nine-game winning streak.