The Milwaukee Bucks got off to a fantastic start at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, but over for quarters, Jason Kidd’s squad lost its defensive edge.

Milwaukee opened up an 11-4 lead to open the game—a start that was punctuated by a back-door cut and two-handed jam by point guard Michael Carter-Williams. However, the shorthanded Bucks couldn’t slow down or keep pace with the New York Knicks in a 122-97 defeat.

“We’ve got new pieces and this isn’t going to be the last time we give up 100 points, but we’ve got to give better effort,” Jason said. “We just over dribbled the ball.

[We] got out of character. Once we didn’t score, make shots, we started to try to do it by ourselves and that happens with a young team. Understand our trust has to be better.”

MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 28: Michael Carter-Williams #5 of the Milwaukee Bucks handles the ball against the New York Knicks on October 28, 2015 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Bucks were without Jabari Parker, who is still recovering from injury, as well as Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was serving a league suspension. Additionally, O.J. Mayo was out with a sore right hamstring, leaving Milwaukee a bit short on depth. That showed as the New York bench had five players with eight or more points.

Milwaukee did have some bright spots in the loss. Carter-Williams finished with 20 points and four assists and Greivis Vasquez had 15 points off the bench in his Bucks debut. Rookie Rashad Vaughn had a strong night as well, hitting two threes and going 4-of-6 from the floor to score 10 points. However, the biggest point of hope was newcomer Greg Monroe, who finished the contest with 22 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

“Just tried to stay aggressive and pick my spots. Take good shots,” Monroe told the media. “We were moving the ball pretty well, so I was just trying to find my spots. My teammates were giving me a lot of easy looks.”

While the offense kept it moving, Jason was unhappy with his team’s defensive effort from the start. Milwaukee let Robin Lopez open for a dunk for the first points of the game, and the Bucks were never really able to get it going defensively.

“For us, we started off on the wrong foot. First play of the game, we give up a layup or a dunk,” J-Kidd said. “We’ve got to go back tomorrow and look at the film and understand the mistakes that are all correctable and get better at it defensively.”

New York Knicks v Milwaukee Bucks

Even still, the Bucks kept it close after one, trailing the Knicks by just four, 27-23. As the game went on, Milwaukee did a decent job of limiting forwards Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and Robin Lopez from the field. The trio shot just 10-of-32 from the floor. However, the game turned in the second quarter, where turnovers began to plague the Bucks.

Milwaukee coughed it up eight times, resulting in 11 New York points. The Knicks scored 36 in the second quarter to lead 63-51 at the half.

“I think we had a lapse on defense and we were turning the ball over too much as a team,” Monroe said. “At times when we could’ve made a run, it would be a mistake from ourselves that was stopping us. They absolutely did a great job, they had a good game, but a lot of the things that happened to us were unforced and things that we can correct.”

New York Knicks v Milwaukee Bucks

As Monroe suggested, the Bucks kept at it throughout the second half, but with the New York bench on fire, they could never complete the comeback. That was particularly true in the fourth quarter, where the Knicks second unit combined to score 25 points to seal the final result.

Coach Kidd realizes that his team is facing a tough situation early in the season as it is working in new players while still not at full strength. However, he isn’t using that as an excuse in the defeat.

“For us to grow up, we’re probably going to have to go through this, probably the first 20 games or so. Understanding that when Jabari comes back, it’s not where he’s going to play 30 minutes a night,” Jason said. “When Giannis comes back, we can’t just say we lost because of Giannis and O.J. [Mayo]. We felt we had enough firepower and talent to win tonight and we just came up short.”

NEXT UP

It’ll be a quick turnaround for Jason’s crew. They’ll come right back on Thursday night and host the Washington Wizards at the Bradley Center.

The Wizards had to rally to top the Magic in their season opener last night, but thanks to a late bucket from star point guard John Wall, they escaped with an 88-87 win. Milwaukee was 1-2 last year against D.C.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

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