Milwaukee vs. Dallas: Bucks Slide Past the Mavericks, 124-115

Nov 28, 2022 - 11:42 AM

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In the matchup of Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Luka Doncic, the Milwaukee Bucks would prevail Sunday night at Fiserv Forum, rattling off a 124-115 victory.

Jevon Carter and Grayson Allen helped Milwaukee catch an early double-digit point lead in this one, thanks to their combined 11 points in the opening minutes. Luka Doncic would start getting his presence felt by pouring in 13 points, but Grayson Allen’s five threes in the opening frame padded the Bucks’ advantage to 41-33 going into the second quarter.

The Bucks’ hot shooting would continue in the second quarter, as Grayson Allen continued to torch Dallas. They simply couldn’t miss from beyond deep. At half, their stat line would read 11-of-21 from deep for the home team. It’d be the defining reason that they held a 73-62 lead at the break.

Giannis Antetokounmpo would really start to come alive in the third quarter, especially with some ferocious dunks. His firepower helped Milwaukee stave off multiple Mavs runs and preserve the lead. Headed into the fourth quarter, the Bucks held onto a 104-96 lead.

From that point on, there’d be nothing standing in Milwaukee’s way to victory. Dallas never really came close in the fourth, and the Bucks put the final touches on a wire-to-wire victory, 124-115.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in scoring with 30 points. He’d also tag along 11 rebounds and four assists. Four other Bucks registered double-digits, with Grayson Allen being next in line with 25 points of his own.

Luka Doncic led Dallas in scoring, concluding his effort with 27 points. He also dished out 12 assists.

The Bucks will now travel to New York to take on the Knicks this Wednesday night.

Three Observations

The Bucks did a fantastic job containing Luka Donic.

Led by the defensive efforts of Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee did a masterful job of containing Luka. Last night marked just the fifth night that he failed to hit the 30 point mark this season — and it was the ability of Holiday to keep him under control. Holiday was praised by Budenholzer multiple times in his postgame availability, along with Wes Matthews, who got his turn on Doncic in the second half. As Bud also said, it’s rare to be able to contain Luka to those numbers.

Grayson Allen went absolutely bonkers.

In the first half, Grayson Allen hit seven threes. He would just take one attempt in the second half, but that wouldn’t prevent it from being a career-night from him. Those seven threes tied a career-high. Additionally, his seven threes are the most made in a half (1st or 2nd) in franchise history. That number also tied for the most made in either half in the NBA so far this season (done three other times). What this says to me is just how impressive it is that the Bucks have multiple guys that can be that effective from deep. We’ve seen Brook Lopez stroke it from deep. We’ve seen Jrue Holiday get hot with his shot. Keep in mind that this team doesn’t even have Khris Middleton back yet.

Brook Lopez continued his insane level of consistency.

So often this season, a constant theme in the postgame pressers is the level of consistency that Brook Lopez exhibits on the defensive side of the basketball — and last night was no different. He continued to be a massive presence down low, swatting away four shots. This is coming after a season-high six block performance against the Cavaliers on Friday. He continues to lead the league in blocked shots and is just a massive part of Milwaukee’s defensive success this year.

Bonus Bucks Bits

• After tonight’s game against Dallas, Milwaukee will have played 13 of its first 19 games at Fiserv Forum. Beginning with Wednesday’s game at New York, the Bucks will play 11 of their next 15 games on the road
• The Bucks did an efficient ball moving the basketball, finishing with 28 assists. That was one of the things Bud said he liked about the offense.
• Those assists helped the Bucks get open looks as well, as their 17 made threes tied a season-high in that category.
• Consistent scoring is one of the many things that makes this Bucks team hum. All five starters plus Bobby Portis etched their way into the double-digit point category, showing yet again that good things happen when that occurs.
• At one point, Giannis seemed to take longer than ten seconds at the line, which frustrated multiple Mavericks players. The good thing is that he went 8-of-10 from the stripe.
• This was quite the move from Antetokounmpo:

• And as for Khris Middleton? Here’s the latest on him: