Beverley caught the ball and moved up, then ran a simple handoff screen with Lillard.
Lillard took the ball back and drove diagonally into the paint, drawing Adams up before sending a bounce pass to Middleton, who was cutting in from the weak-side corner.
Middleton caught it and immediately jumped for a layup.
The two points went in cleanly.
It seemed that timeout had done at least some good.
Milwaukee seemed to have deliberately cut back on isolation attacks from its stars, instead increasing the teamwork and coordination across the lineup.
That might make things easier for them on offense.
But on defense... that was another matter.
It was the Knicks' possession.
Chen Xi took the inbound pass, turned, and slowly dribbled across half court. Then he signaled for George, who had just checked back in, to come up and screen for him before accelerating into the mid-range area.
Once he drew help defense, he methodically passed out to Strus on the wing.
Strus caught the ball and gave a slight fake, then put it on the floor toward the top of the key before handing it off to George.
George took two more steps to the right after receiving the ball, then gathered, rose, and launched a three-point shot.
With Lillard defending him, the ball rolled smoothly off his fingers and, without much interference, swished through the net.
The lead reached ten points.
New York's powerful offensive surge continued.
On to the next possession.
The Bucks were on offense.
Lillard ran a pick-and-roll at the top of the key, drove, and passed to Giannis on the weak side.
Giannis caught it and accelerated into the paint, turning to attempt a layup, but failed to finish.
Adams secured the rebound and sent it to George.
George turned and pushed upcourt,