The Dallas Mavericks won at home Wednesday night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 116-101. The duel Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic led Dallas, with the first scoring 26 and returning 17 times, and the last 27, scoring nine rebounds and giving up nine assists. Donte DiVincenzo defeated a team of 22 for the Bucks in a defeat.
Facing a Milwaukee squad without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Dallas Mavericks looked against the Bucks and looked tired. Dallas was back to back on the second night of a loss last night in Houston, and took a few minutes to wake up. After not seeing the ball in the fourth quarter against the Rockets, Kristaps Porzingis got an early appearance and hit on three of six shots and a few free throws. Luka Doncic also watched his game early on, but a counter-injury of some kind briefly forced him out of the game. The banking unit, which was usually strong, missed very open looks and gave up the lead. The Mavericks trailed 31-29 after one quarter.
The two teams played it tight in the second, with Brook Lopez looking like the first Dirk Nowitzki and Donte DiVincenzo turning into Ray Allen. Despite stalwarts Tim Hardaway and Jalen Brunson, the Mavericks remained within reach. A friendly Luka Doncic sat down to Porzingis for three and an attacking setback from Porzingis late in the quarter. And despite some very bad calls by the referees, two Doncic slides to end the half pulled the Mavericks inside one. Dallas trailed 56-55.
Things really started to click in the third quarter with the Mavericks falling ahead each time. But every time, the Bucks would respond. Dallas led 80-72 1-5 in the quarter, only to have Luka Doncic turn the game around and turn the ball around three times. Tim Hardaway added one of his own just before the end of the quarter and Milwaukee drew 12 minutes during the 12th minute. Dallas trailed 84-80 with the backlog in the fourth.
For a while, it felt like the Mavericks endured the Mavericks to finish third. Then Dorian Finney-Smith broke the seal on his long-lasting drought. Next, Luka Doncic found Porzingis for a three-pointer of his own. Then they reconnect to take the lead. In the next attacking possession, Porzingis grabs an attacking board and knocks it down. From there, the game was all Dallas. A four-point lead inflated to double digits and Dallas took the thing home. The Mavericks walk away with a 116-101 victory over Milwaukee.
Now, some thoughts
The closing statement
In my mind, it’s been a while since the Dallas Mavericks entered the fourth round and blew out an opponent. Dallas outscored the Bucks 36-17 in the final frame. The charge was led by Kristaps and his 11 points, an appropriate performance after seeing the ball only once against the Rockets last night.
A debated aspect of last night’s loss was how little the fact that the Mavericks were late in the game against the Rockets while using their two best players tonight … are you ready for that? at the same time. And it worked. Who would have guessed. More plays and more ball movement, less isolation, everyone will be happy.
Offensive setback
There’s a lot of data on why offensive rebound is no longer something in the NBA, but hell if I understand anything about it. When I look at the score, the six offensive setbacks by Kristaps Porzingis and the five by Dorian Finney-Smith are the thing that jumps off the page for me. When he sees Porzingis crashing on the boards, it gives energy in his game that is harder to see when he is the pop man.
I’m sure there’s a game plan and opponent-dependent stuff going on in terms of how often or willing Dallas is to attach the offensive glass, but if you go to Porzingis to the game books and sort by his offensive setback, if he has 3 or more the Mavericks tend to win the last time I checked.
The Mavericks survived without their banking combination being a major factor
Before the game, the Bally Sports broadcast had a segment about Jalen Brunson and Tim Hardaway and how effective they have been off the bench this season. Of course, it would follow that the two would throw a 5-18 shooting display to specific focus. But for the first time in weeks, the Mavericks survived a night of both guards and walked away with a victory.
Bonus point: Porzingis drove right and dipped!
One of my favorite twitter bits is to shout about Porzingis dripping left to nowhere. He is right-handed, big and skilled and he does not like to go right for whatever reason. When he dipped the hell out of the ball in the second quarter, I think, as I shook a guard along the way, I screamed on my TV. More please.