What’s wrong with the Dallas Mavericks’ 106-105 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks
The Dallas Mavericks’ 106-105 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks
The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Friday night, 106-105, finding a new, dreadful way to lose. After recovering from a shaky start, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in scoring with 28 points. With 33 points, Luka Doncic was the Mavericks’ top scorer. The Mavericks made a dismal 10 of 24 free throw attempts, including an absurdly poor 7 of 15 in the fourth quarter.Early on, the two teams traded leads as the Mavericks bombed from beyond the arc and the Bucks aggressively attacked the rim. Following a Grayson Allen and-one that gave the Bucks an 11-10 advantage, the Mavericks went on an 8-0 run to force a Milwaukee timeout. The Bucks answered with their own 7-0 run. With Milwaukee responding immediately following Luka Doncic’s 16 points in the quarter, offence was still the name of the game. At the completion of the first quarter, Dallas was in up 33–32.
The Mavericks started the second quarter keeping Milwaukee to repeated misses while Luka Doncic received his customary second quarter rest. Dallas prevailed during the Doncic-free minutes thanks to Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood. However, after Doncic’s comeback, Milwaukee stopped multiple Dallas attempts to get to the basket, and the Mavericks missed numerous opportunities to score. Milwaukee went on a lengthy 12-3 run to end the quarter, giving them a 52-48 advantage at the break.
Starting the second half with a run-off between the Mavericks and Bucks, first came the Mavericks. Through the genius of Doncic alone, Dallas edged closer, but the Bucks persisted. After a Christian Wood three, a fast break Luka dunk over Jrue Holiday, and a tip shot by Maxi Kleber, the Mavericks were up 12 and the Bucks were forced to take a timeout. Although Milwaukee had a response for Dallas once again, the Mavericks fought hard to finish the third and lead 84-73 going into the fourth.
Doncic sat on the bench as the Mavericks started the fourth with a mixed unit once more. When the third quarter began, Antetokounmpo had only made five of his previous fourteen attempts. Fortunately for Dallas, Dinwiddie and Wood kept the attack rolling for a while, but a few sloppy plays led to the Bucks swiftly tying the game with seven minutes left. Up until Giannis picked up his sixth foul with 2:55 left in the game while contesting a Tim Hardaway three, the sides traded buckets. Dallas could have won the game, but a string of missed free throws from every Mavericks player who was fouled led to a sad defeat.
