Bucks fall to Mavericks, 136-132, Thanks to Doncic Career-High

The Bucks came into Saturday’s contest vs. Dallas with the 1 seed clinched, but faced a resilient Dallas Mavericks team hungry for a win. Luka Doncic collected a career high 19 assists, along with 36 points and 14 rebounds, as Milwaukee fell to the Mavericks 136-132 in OT. 

Milwaukee started the contest slow, similar to their last game vs. Miami. Dallas went on a 13-4 run to start the first four minutes. Luka Doncic looked like his usual self, dishing out assists and accumulating 0 turnovers in the first half. The tides turned slowly but surely.

Bucks Climb Back

Clawing their way back, Milwaukee flexed their offensive muscles. Engineering a 19-4 run to regain their first lead since 4-3, the Bucks went to the locker room up 71-62.

Brook Lopez put on an offensive clinic in the 1st half. He dropped 21 points in the 2nd quarter alone, a career high. Shooting 4-6 from 3 point range, he exuded confidence, and the scoreboard showed it.

Dominant half from Brook. pic.twitter.com/MJNDr1LdQt

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 9, 2020

Coming out of halftime, Milwaukee pushed their lead to 11, but it did not last for long. Dallas remained resilient, with a steady offense led by their two young stars Doncic and Porzingis. Off of a pair of made free throws by Trey Burke, Dallas started the 4th quarter leading by 2. 

The Mavericks went on another run to start the 4th, extending the margin to as much as 8. Brook Lopez converted a 4-point play with 6:15 remaining to tie it at 107, followed by another deep-range bomb to take their first lead of the final quarter. Giannis blew by Maxi Kleber for his 24th point to go up by 5, highlighting a 9-0 run in 1:43. 

Dallas would not go down easily, cutting the Milwaukee lead to 2 with less than a minute to play. Luka Doncic would go to the charity stripe with 21 seconds remaining, followed by Coach Budenholzer challenging the foul call on Antetokounmpo. It proved to be successful, as officials charged the foul on Khris Middleton. Doncic tied the game at 119 with 21 seconds remaining, scoring the final 7 points of regulation. George Hill had a wide-open look to win the game but could not connect, forcing OT. 

Bucks’ OT Woes

In the extra period, runs were key. Dallas hit 3 straight triples to open up with a 9 point lead. Immediately after, just when the game looked out of reach, Milwaukee came roaring back on a 7-0 run to trim the lead to 2. It simply was not enough though, as Doncic collected his 19th assist with a dish to a cutting Kleber to go up 5. Doncic put the final stamp on the game with a floater with 11.1 seconds to seal the game.

The Bucks drop to 55-15 (2-3 in Orlando), while Dallas improves to 42-30 (2-3 in Orlando). Milwaukee has no drop off in their next opponent, squaring off with Toronto on Monday (6:30 p.m. E.T. on ESPN).

Key Stats/Notes:

• Brook Lopez scored 34, tied with Giannis for leading scorer, his first time since March 2nd in Miami
• Milwaukee shot 67% from the FT line (23-34), their 2nd time shooting under 70% from the line in the last 3 games
• Luka Doncic had his 3rd triple double of the Orlando bubble. How many does the rest of the NBA have combined? One. 

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