The reigning NBA champions New York Knicks welcome the 1-9 Milwaukee Bucks to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, with the Knicks riding a three-game winning streak and the Bucks stuck on six straight defeats.

Milwaukee are a different team since Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to Miami, and first-year coach Taylor Jenkins is still searching for the right combination around Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel'el Ware, who all arrived from Miami in the Antetokounmpo deal.

What is the form going into Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks?

The Knicks have won four of their last five, with the only defeat a 98-93 loss at Philadelphia, and their 135-105 win over Chicago at the Garden was the biggest margin of the run.

Milwaukee's last five games have all ended in defeat, and none was by fewer than seven points, with the closest a 109-102 loss at Boston.

The slow start follows a 32-50 season that ended nine straight playoff appearances, and the summer rebuild has so far brought no immediate lift, which leaves the Bucks at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

The season-long numbers explain the gap, with the Knicks conceding 108.3 points per 100 possessions against 119.6 for the Bucks, an 11-point difference at the defensive end alone. Opponents also shoot 47.1% against the Knicks, which ranks fourth in the league, and 53.3% against the Bucks, who rank 28th by the same measure.

Possession is another separator, with the Knicks turning the ball over 14.8 times a game against 16.8 for the Bucks and out-rebounding them 48.3 to 46.5, which gives New York extra shots against a defence that already struggles to get stops.

Tempo adds a wrinkle, since the Bucks play at the league's fifth-fastest pace while the Knicks play at its second-slowest, so Milwaukee will want to run and New York will want to slow the game into the half-court.

Home and road splits sharpen the picture, as the Knicks concede 101.8 points a game at the Garden while the Bucks have lost all four of their road games and allowed 119.0 on average.

The one area where Milwaukee can claim parity is shooting, with the Bucks hitting 43.5% from the field to New York's 42.9% and both teams making 14.6 threes a game, so a hot night from Herro and the bench is the realistic route to staying in touch.

Bucks vs. Knicks team news and rotations

Josh Hart is the only notable doubt for New York, listed as a game-time decision with right ankle soreness after appearing in seven of the Knicks' nine games.

He is the starting shooting guard on the latest depth chart, and if he sits, Landry Shamet, who is shooting 41.7% from three, is the projected replacement.

Gary Trent Jr. is out for Milwaukee with an illness, but he has played only twice this season, so the projected starting five of Brayden Burries, Herro, Jaquez, Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner is barely affected.

Behind them, Ware averages 6.9 rebounds in only 17.3 minutes, while Ryan Rollins, Nate Ament and Kasparas Jakucionis share the remaining minutes off the bench.

The matchups that could decide Bucks vs. Knicks

The first duel is between the two lead guards, Brunson and Herro, who top the scoring on their respective sides and both shoot above 36% from three, so whichever defence closes out better on the perimeter will gain an edge.

The second is in the frontcourt, where Towns pulls down more than twice as many rebounds as Turner, who is shooting just 34.6% from the field, which gives New York a clear edge at the rim.

Bucks vs. Knicks player props to watch

The three prop angles below lean on the biggest gaps between the sides, with two Knicks overs built on workload and one Bucks over built on the shot volume Milwaukee tend to need when they are chasing a game.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks head-to-head record

The Knicks have won four of the last five meetings, including a 127-98 win in Milwaukee in February 2026, and they scored at least 116 points in each of those four wins.

Milwaukee's lone win in that spell was a 121-111 home victory in October 2025, but those games were played with a very different Bucks roster, so the history says less than the current form.

The sides meet again on 2 December, 28 February and 8 April, all of which are on the NBA schedule.

Our Bucks vs. Knicks tips and prediction

The Knicks are the clear pick since they hold the edge in every category in the comparison above, and their depth should cope even if Hart misses out.

A Milwaukee upset would need a hot-shooting night from Herro and the bench, and with the Bucks winless on the road so far this season, the Knicks look the safer side.