Lonnie Walker.
At the start of the season, he had spent a long time on the bench, but he seized his opportunity.
When Toppin had to leave the game to recover from a facial cut that was bleeding, Walker stepped up. With his own impressive athleticism and ability to attack the basket, he caught Thibodeau's eye and gradually earned some playing time again.
That was undoubtedly good news for the Knicks.
They had unearthed another usable player from the bench. He had obvious flaws, but at least he could contribute, adding depth to the roster.
That was certainly a good thing over the course of a long regular season.
As for the Playoffs, would he still get to play?
They could worry about that when the time came~~
December 2 arrived.
That evening, the New York Knicks finally welcomed another powerhouse to town.
The Milwaukee Bucks.
The Eastern Conference's current second-place team visited Madison Square Garden to challenge the Knicks.
It was also Chen Xi's first matchup against Giannis and Lillard since coming to the Eastern Conference.
The game was set to tip off at 7:30 that evening.
Bucks starters: Lillard, Grayson Allen, Middleton, the Greek Freak, Brook Lopez
Knicks starters: Hart, Chen Xi, Grant, Toppin, Harten
The opening tip was contested by the Greek Freak and Harten.
In the end, Giannis Antetokounmpo used his superior physical gifts to tip the ball to his team.
The Bucks got the first possession.
Cousin Lillard caught the ball in the backcourt, slowly dribbled across midcourt, and reached the top of the key to start the offense.
He waited there with the ball until Middleton moved up from the wing, then passed to him.
Middleton caught the ball at the right-side wing and faced Grant's defense.
He didn't rush into a shot. Instead,