Knicks held to season low in points, fall to Bucks

David Lee fought for position on every play last night, jockeying for leverage against Andrew Bogut, but couldn't contain the Milwaukee center.

The 7-foot Bogut had his way with Lee and the Knicks' undersized front line as Milwaukee defeated the Knicks, 83-67, on Legends Night at the Garden.

It was the Knicks' worst offensive performance of the season and their lowest output since scoring 78 points in a 128-78 loss to Dallas on Jan. 24.

Bogut finished with 24 points and 20 rebounds. Tracy McGrady, who looked to be limping by the fourth quarter, scored 15 points on 5-for-14 shooting and had four rebounds in 30 minutes. Lee had 12 points with 13 rebounds and Eddie House had 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting as the Knicks lost a season-high seventh straight game.

The excitement that rose from the Garden seats just three days ago in McGrady's debut was subdued almost instantly as Bogut - who was overlooked for an All-Star spot in favor of Lee - and the Bucks jumped on the Knicks early. The fluid Knicks offense that emerged when McGrady and fellow newcomers Sergio Rodriguez and House stepped onto the court Saturday night was nowhere to be seen.

In its place was indecision, a myriad of no-look passes to startled teammates and plenty of missed shots. Especially from beyond the arc.

The Knicks shot 33.8 percent (26 of 77) from the floor and 20.8 percent (5 of 24) from three-point range. Milwaukee shot 43 percent (37 of 86) for the game.

And while the Knicks struggled to find their groove, Bogut and the Bucks kept shooting. Bogut was an instant matchup nightmare for Lee inside. The center had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the first half to put Milwaukee (27-28) up 47-41 at the break.

Limited to only 51/2 minutes at the Garden three weeks ago because of a migraine, Bogut played 36 this time and overwhelmed the Knicks' smaller front line.

Starting point guard Rodriguez injected some much-needed life into the arena with two of his eight steals at the start of the third quarter. He caught a pass near the far sideline, dribbled upcourt and found an open Danilo Gallinari (five points), who was fouled by Carlos Delfino. Gallinari hit one of his two free throws.

A minute later, Rodriguez stole another ball, this time hitting a layup to pull the Knicks (19-36) to within 51-47 with 8:13 left. They eventually took their first lead of the game with 5:15 to go in the quarter, as Wilson Chandler scored inside off a feed from Al Harrington.

But that lead was short-lived, as the Bucks responded with an 8-0 run and never looked back.

The boos rained down from the stands as the final minutes of the game ticked away - a sad sight in front of the former greats from the 1969-70 championship team.

McGrady, who asked to be taken out during the final stages of the game, had eight points at the half.

Rodriguez, who started at point guard over and the benched Chris Duhon, finished with four points.

The Bucks, who entered the game one game out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, have won three in a row and eight of their last 12.