Latrell Sprewell scored 28 points and Allan Houston added 22 as the New York Knicks posted an 85-71 victory over the struggling Milwaukee Bucks, who suffered their fifth straight loss.
Robinson sat out Sunday's loss in Seattle with a sprained right wrist and the stagnant Bucks managed just 83 points. He had 24 points, seven rebounds and three steals in his return but could not help Milwaukee snap out of its funk.
 Latrell Sprewell and the Knicks had the Bucks on their heels. Gary Dineen NBAE/Getty Images |
Ray Allen scored just 10 points on 4-of-20 shooting and missed 13-of-14 3-pointers.
"If I would have made even half those we could be sitting here with a win right now," he said. "I would take every one of those shots over again. I just couldn't get the ball to go down."
"When a guy like Ray Allen shoots as poorly as he did, you have to give some credit to the defense," New York coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We played a great game tonight. I think we know what we are capable of doing, we just need to show it."
Sam Cassell made only 4-of-16 shots for 12 points and Tim Thomas had 13 points and seven rebounds, but made just 4-of-11 shots.
"It's amazing how great players can be so fragile," Milwaukee coach George Karl said. "This team has had to tinker near disaster for three years now. Maybe it's just the character of this team."
The Bucks shot 31 percent (26-of-84) overall and have lost five in a row for the first time since February 17-25, 2000.
Sprewell, who is from Milwaukee, guarded Allen throughout and remained red-hot offensively, making 12-of-24 shots. He is averaging better than 26 points over his last five games.
"I get juiced to play here, I was trying to put on a show for my friends and family," he said. "We played hard and smart for 48 minutes and that might be the first time we've done that all year. We're hard to beat when we play like that."
Othella Harrington had 10 points and eight rebounds and Marcus Camby recorded eight, 13 and a season-high five blocks for the Knicks, who won for the fifth time in six games and posted consecutive road victories for the first time this season.
"It's one step," Camby said. "A win on the road against a quality team is something we can go with. We did all the things that we needed to do. From the opening tip we did a great job of defending them."
New York shot just 44 percent (31-of-71) but is much more accustomed to winning low-scoring games, unlike the high-powered Bucks.
Milwaukee had its last lead after Tim Thomas drained a 3-pointer with 5:56 left in the first quarter to make it 13-10. The Knicks closed the period on a 14-6 run highlighted by six points from Sprewell, who capped the quarter with a jumper for 24-19 lead.
New York had its largest lead, 42-28, with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter and held a nine-point halftime cushion as the Bucks shot just 29 percent (14-of-48) in the first 24 minutes and committed 10 turnovers.
Sprewell's only 3-pointer gave the Knicks a 55-42 advantage with 6:30 to go in the third quarter. Milwaukee closed the period on a 23-12 run to close within 66-62.
But the Bucks scored just nine points in the final 12 minutes, making 4-of-19 shots. They made four baskets and a free throw while missing all nine 3-point attempts.
New York has won eight of its last nine meetings with Milwaukee, including five of six in the Bradley Center.