Milwaukee was a popular preseason choice to win the Eastern Conference, and the Bucks backed up that perception with a 9-1 start. The Knicks were pegged by many for a one-way ticket on the downhill slide after bowing in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

It may yet turn out that way, but on a Tuesday night in December at Milwaukee's Bradley Center, it sure looked as if the Knicks are capable of competing with anyone in the East. They still are missing forward Clarence Weatherspoon, and big men Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Othella Harrington all encountered foul trouble in the latter stages of the Knicks' 85-71 victory.