The Knicks soaked in the All-Star break. Julius Randle went to Atlanta and played in the game for the first time. Obi Toppin was in the Slam Dunk competition. It was a time to relax and consider what they had achieved - or overachieved - in the first half of the season.
But a wakeup call for the challenge that faces them came quickly Thursday as the Knicks kicked off the second half of their schedule in Milwaukee. Falling behind by as many as 38 points the Knicks fell to the Bucks, 134-101, at Fiserv Forum. On the one-year anniversary of the night the season was shut down last year, the Knicks reverted to their form from that season.