November 9, 2026 at 4:46 AM UTC
Pregame AnalysisSlumping Bucks Face Steadying Knicks at Madison Square Garden
Milwaukee's road struggles meet a Knicks team finding its footing.
This page is the pregame analysis. The box score is the main page for the game, and the matchup history collects every meeting between these teams.
The Bucks arrive in New York at 1-8, riding a five-game losing streak and winless in four road games. The damage has been ugly, including a 136-111 loss to Cleveland and a 132-100 defeat to Houston. That kind of margin suggests problems on both ends, and a trip to face the reigning champions is a tough place to look for a fix. Milwaukee will also be without Gary Trent Jr., who is out with an illness, taking another guard from a team already searching for stability.
There are small positives. Rookie Brayden Burries recorded his first career double-double against Toronto, and four of the five starters scored in double figures in that game. The concern was Myles Turner, who went scoreless. If Milwaukee is going to hang around, it needs Turner involved and Burries to keep producing, because the Bucks have little margin for error.
The Knicks are 5-4 after a slow start and have won three straight, including 135-105 over Chicago and 103-90 over Brooklyn. Their 109-97 win at Cleveland comes with a caveat, since the Cavaliers were on a back-to-back. Still, those results show a champion that has steadied. New York's main concerns are availability: Josh Hart is a game-time decision with an ankle injury after missing two games, and centers Drew Eubanks and N'Faly Dante are out. That thins the frontcourt, and Karl-Anthony Towns' stalled extension talks add background noise around the starting center.
Even so, the gap in form is hard to ignore. Milwaukee has been blown out repeatedly away from home, while New York has been winning comfortably. Expect the Knicks to control the game and pull away behind a stronger rotation, even if Hart sits.
Prediction: Knicks 117, Bucks 104.