Milwaukee, Wisconsin - The New York Knicks matched up on Friday night with the Milwaukee Bucks in a tale of two halves as the defending champions still struggle through the first few weeks of the NBA season.

The Knicks beat the Bucks 113-98 for their second regular-season win in a row – and Milwaukee’s fourth consecutive home loss.

The Bucks now have a 4-5 record for tenth place in the Eastern Conference standings, while the Knicks are sitting in the fifth spot at 6-3.

After coming off a big win in Detroit, the Bucks had plenty of momentum that carried them through the first quarter on Friday, doubling up NY 38-19 after one.

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In the second quarter, Milwaukee hit their biggest lead, a 21-point advantage over the Knicks before NY reversed course on the Bucks.

Once they had enough of Milwaukee’s onslaught, the Knicks went on to outscore the Bucks from the second quarter on.

The Knicks defense progressively held Milwaukee to fewer and fewer point totals in each quarter so the Bucks could only score 15 by the final buzzer – bringing home the dominating win.

New York’s power forward Julius Randle (26) had a monster game over the Bucks, outplaying last year’s Finals MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Despite the poor first-half performance by the Knicks, Randle was the only bright spot at that time, dropping 16 points by halftime.

On the stat sheet, Giannis found himself overshadowed by one of the league’s up-and-coming big men in Randle.

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Randle carried his first-half progress into the second half as the Knicks kept their comeback rolling.

By night’s end, Randle finished 11-for-22, scoring a game-high 32 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bucks sit with a losing record for the second time this season. With every loss this early into the season, the Bucks are looking more and more like a back-to-back title run is out of the question.

If they do rebound from this dismal start, they need to do it quickly because their next six games on the schedule are against some of the league’s better teams.

On Sunday, the Knicks are back at home to face the Cavaliers, while the Bucks are on the road to play against the Wizards.