NEW YORK -- It seemed to good to be true when the Milwaukee Bucks limited the New York Knicks to 36 points in the first half.

And it was.

The Knicks unleashed a three-point barrage in the third quarter, sinking 8 of 13 attempts, and took control in a 101-83 victory on Friday night at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. New York outscored Milwaukee, 42-21, in the decisive third quarter as it quickly erased a nine-point halftime deficit.

New York's fabled 1973 championship team was honored at halftime and Knicks fans saluted Phil Jackson, Bill Bradley, Willis Reed, Dean Meminger and Walt Frazier, among others.

But on this night, the Knicks (49-26) needed just Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith to do major damage.

The duo combined to score 71 of the 101 points on the way to the Knicks' 11th straight victory. Anthony now has scored 40 or more points in three straight games, including a 50-point night earlier this week against Miami.

"Melo has been playing out of his mind right now," Bucks guard Brandon Jennings said. "That's 100-some (131) points in three games.

"He's a matchup problem when your 4 (power forward) is on him because he's probably quicker than the 4. And his face-up game and his one-on-one game is amazing."

Smith contributed 30 points and was 5 of 11 from three-point range.

Jennings led the Bucks (36-39) with 25 points and J.J. Redick added 18, but Milwaukee's magic number to clinch a playoff berth remained stuck at two. Philadelphia won at Atlanta, 101-90, to pull within five games of the Bucks with seven left to play.

"It's seven games to go and we've got to lock it up," Redick said. "Another challenge for us (Saturday), and another chance for us to move forward and secure playoff position."

The Bucks return home to host Toronto while the 76ers will play at Miami on Saturday night. A Bucks victory and a 76ers loss would put Milwaukee in the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-'10 season.

Anthony, who hit 17 of 28 shots, became the first Knicks player to score at least 40 points in three straight games since Bernard King in November 1984. Anthony also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

"I thought our defense was good in the first two quarters," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "It was a two-man show out there, Carmelo and J.R.

"We were battling down there but he (Anthony) started making some shots, and they got out in transition a few times. We just couldn't seem to slow them down."

The Bucks never got in much offensive rhythm and shot just 38.2 percent, hitting 29 of 76 attempts. Monta Ellis was limited to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting and Ersan Ilyasova, who had scored 20-plus points in four straight games, had just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting.

"They were doing a lot of switching which is not something we face all the time, so it took us a while to get our rhythm," Boylan said. "That ends up, for the way we play, being a one-on-one game.

"It was a very low assist game for both teams. That's not really our style, and they did a nice job taking that away from us."

The Bucks led, 57-48, early in the third quarter after a 10-point run by Jennings was countered with only a three-point play from Anthony.

But then the Knicks outscored the Bucks, 30-9, in the final 8 minutes of the quarter to take control. Smith sank 4 three-pointers in that stretch, and Jason Kidd hurled the final insult at the Bucks when he threw in a 70-foot shot at the third-quarter buzzer.

The Bucks got within, 87-81, in the fourth quarter, and Jennings had a wide-open three to cut the deficit to three points but missed it.

Anthony then hit two consecutive jumpers to seal the Knicks victory.

"He's strong and powerful and he's a smart player," Boylan said of the Knicks star. "In the first half, he was struggling with his shot a little bit, so what did he do? He went to the offensive glass and got a couple easy baskets.

"That's what good scorers do. They figure out how to get their points. He's an elite player. He's without a doubt a top five player in the league."

Boylan said the Bucks must keep plugging to clinch their playoff spot.

"We've got to go home and take care of business against Toronto," he said. "There's still a lot of season left to go. Nothing is written in stone right now, so we've got to earn it."

• Read more articles by CHARLES F. GARDNER

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