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Knicks hit the road to Milwaukee

Feb 3, 2014 - 4:10 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Knicks long homestand is over and they'll hit the road Monday night when they visit the Bradley Center to take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Knicks went 4-4 on the eight-residency at Madison Square Garden. A resounding loss to the two-time defending champion Miami Heat Saturday night ended not just the homestand, but also a four-game winning streak for the Knicks.

LeBron James scored 30 points on Super Bowl eve to lead Miami to a 106-91 triumph.

Carmelo Anthony paced New York with 26 points but matched a season-worst with seven turnovers in the setback. J.R. Smith donated 20 points and Tim Hardaway, Jr. had 17 off the bench. Hardaway, who was coming off a career-high 29 points, has reached double figures in five straight games and six of his last seven.

"I like the direction that we're going in right now, just as far as our mentality and our focus," said Anthony. "Tonight was just slippage, it happened and we have to bounce back on Monday."

The Knicks matched their total of 28 losses from a season ago with 35 games still to play.

It's a very brief road trip for the Knicks as they will be back home for two straight against the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets on Wednesday and Friday.

The Bucks have lost six in a row and their record since the calendar turned to 2014 is a miserable 1-15. They've dropped three straight as the host.

On Saturday, the Bucks fell in Memphis to the Grizzlies, 99-90.

The Bucks actually won the first quarter by seven and had the lead as the teams headed to the locker room for the half. Memphis won the third by four, then ambushed Milwaukee in the fourth to the tune of 32-21.

"We had the energy in the first half, but in the second half, we didn't, and particularly not in the third quarter," Milwaukee coach Larry Drew said. "We had stretches where we showed signs of energy, but we didn't sustain it. It's what we talked about at halftime -- sustaining what we accomplished in the first two quarters."

Brandon Knight had 23 points, six boards and seven assists for the Bucks. Ersan Ilyasova registered a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Khris Middleton, Larry Sanders and Caron Butler all scored in double figures.

O.J. Mayo missed his third straight game with the flu.

The Knicks have won both meetings with Milwaukee this season and seven straight against the Bucks. New York has taken three in a row in Milwaukee.