Doc Rivers and Ryan Rollins talk after the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to the Miami Heat on November 28, 2025 in Miami.
NEW YORK – The Milwaukee Bucks are coming off a six-game losing streak and head to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks in a streaming-only game on Prime tonight, Nov. 28.
The Bucks are 8-11 and are currently three games out of the East’s final play-in spot while the Knicks are 11-6 and have won three of their last four games.
Bucks need wins and help to advance to the NBA Cup
This is the final game of East Group C play in the NBA Cup, and the Bucks will not only need to defeat the Knicks to keep their hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals alive, but they will also need help from around the league on November 28. The Bucks can only advance to the East via a wildcard entry after their loss at Miami on November 26, so they need to:
- atlanta beat cleveland
- Orlando beats Detroit
There’s technically a possibility the Bucks could advance otherwise, but they would have to beat the Knicks by such a wide margin to close one point behind Cleveland and Detroit. The Bucks’ largest margin of victory this season is only 16 (vs. Chicago on November 7).
Going to overtime against Charlotte on November 14 hurt Milwaukee in that category, as Cup games going into extra periods are awarded a net zero point differential regardless of the outcome.
The Bucks are the defending champions of the in-season tournament and are the only team in the league to reach the semi-finals of the cup in its first two years. If they advance to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season, they will be on the road for the first time.
Giannis is in New York for the first time since offseason trade talks
After Milwaukee defeated New York 121–111 at Fiserv Forum on October 28, Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked several questions by Knicks beat writers about the offseason trade talks between the Bucks and Knicks.
“I don’t remember that,” he said after the game. “Right now I’m here representing my team and that’s all. We beat the Knicks. So it doesn’t really matter. What matters right now is that we have to play a game in two days against Golden State. Try to stay in and get two in a row. But I don’t read that article. I try to stay away from all those rumors, how do you say it, speculations and trades and all that. It doesn’t worry me. I include myself. “I try to do it and try to help my team win games.”
Antetokounmpo previously addressed the report at training camp on October 8.
Is Giannis playing?
Bucks star’s arrival in New York is questionable. After going through pregame workouts in Milwaukee before losing to Portland on November 24, the 30-year-old star was upgraded to questionable as the team headed to Miami. But, he did not complete the team’s shootaround on 26 November and was ultimately eliminated.
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said it was not a sign of any physical setback for Antetokounmpo, who strained his left adductor in the first half of the game against Cleveland on Nov. 17.
The Bucks’ losing streak continues to grow
Milwaukee’s current six-game losing streak matches a losing streak the team suffered from October 25 to November. 7, 2024, last season. The team had not lost seven in a row since doing so twice in the 2006–07 campaign.
Giannis Antetokounmpo started the season by saying that good teams don’t lose two games in a row, which was a kind of mental trick to refocus the team after a loss – even the 60-win Bucks in 2018-19 once lost two in a row – but the Bucks are now enduring a long losing streak that they haven’t experienced since their first two years in the league.
In their rookie year of 2013–14, the 15-win Bucks endured several long losing streaks. In 2014–15, they lost six in a row at one point. But from 2015-16 to 2023-24, the team never lost more than five in a row.
And considering the Bucks have to go home to face the Brooklyn Nets immediately following the Knicks game – and that the team is currently 1-2 on the back end of consecutive games – it’s worth noting that the team hasn’t lost eight in a row since Antetokounmpo’s rookie season from March 11-27, 2014.
The franchise record is 15 consecutive losing games set in the 1995–96 season.
- Taurean Prince, out (neck surgery)
- Kevin Porter Jr., out (right meniscus surgery)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, questionable (left adductor strain).
Bucks probable starting lineup
What channel are the Bucks on?
The Bucks are not on a traditional TV channel, as the game will only be streamed on Prime. Ian Eagle, Stan Van Gundy and Cassidy Huberth are on the call. If fans want to listen to a local option, the game will be broadcast on WTMJ Radio and the Bucks Radio Network with Dave Cohen on the call.
What time is the Bucks game?
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 pm CT.
bucks vs knicks odds
New York is a 7.5-point favorite over Milwaukee, and the over/under is set at 235.5 points, per BetMGM.
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