After defeating an already depleted Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, the Milwaukee Bucks eviscerated an even thinner version of them at Fiserv Forum behind massive efforts by Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who became the 52nd member of the NBA’s 20,000 point club. Those two combined for 68—Dame with 34 and Giannis with 32—needing just 27 and 25 minutes to do it, respectively. Klay Thompson was Dallas’ high man with 28.
Game Recap
Giannis scored the Bucks’ first six points as they traded baskets with the Mavericks for the first seven or eight minutes, amid a few sloppy Bucks turnovers. Predictably, the only Maverick scoring was Klay Thompson with 12. Though Giannis had 12 as well, the Bucks didn’t begin to separate until he got his first blow, embarking on an 18-3 run. Dame nailed his first six shots, four of which were from deep, to lead all scorers with 16. A 6/9 start for Milwaukee on their three-point attempts propelled them in front by a 43-30 margin at the first-quarter buzzer.
Two-way guard Brandon Williams and Max Christie got Dallas back within six against the second unit, but Giannis was already at the scorer’s table barely a minute into the second, ready to check in much earlier than he has lately. Six was as close as the Mavs would get; Giannis quickly matched Lillard’s 16, but Dame reentered, then called and raised his teammate by three. The superstar duo went back and forth to the home crowd’s delight, powering an 11-0 run that increased the Milwaukee advantage to 21. Going into the locker room, the Bucks were ahead 72-53, with Dame at 26 and Giannis at 20.
Just 2:08 into the second half, Giannis hit 20,000 as the Bucks quickly built their lead to 23. Not satisfied with merely 20k, he upped his total to 32 and the rout was on. Dame quickly matched Giannis once the latter went to the bench, raising his output to 34 after free throws resulting from a fastbreak foul after a steal. Milwaukee led by as much as 33, and their second unit didn’t let that slip too much. It was 106-79 Bucks through three.
Kevin Porter Jr. notched a triple-double in the opening minute of the fourth, then Jericho Sims and Kyle Kuzma buckets put Milwaukee up 35. Jason Kidd didn’t wave the white flag at all on Saturday when the Bucks were smoking his sorry team, playing Kyrie Irving the entire period (how did that work out?) when he’d played the most minutes of any NBA player over the prior nine games. With just eight men healthy, he didn’t exactly have one to wave tonight, but Chris Livingston and Andre Jackson Jr. came off the bench with nine minutes left to serve as Milwaukee’s victory cigar, who briefly led by 36. Tyler Smith and new two-way signee Jamaree Bouyea followed as the Bucks cruised to an easy 30-point victory.
Stat That Stood Out
All kinds of gaudy statlines tonight, plus a big three-point disparity in Milwaukee’s favor, but here’s something buried down a little further on the stat sheet that stuck out to me: the Bucks only committed nine fouls on the evening. That meant only 10 free throws for the Mavs, who missed six of them!
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