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3 key takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks' road win vs. the Dallas Mavericks
The Milwaukee Bucks began their two-game road trip with a thrilling 106-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, thanks to a Brook Lopez game-winner with just seconds left on the clock.
Luka Doncic and the Mavs had a shot at winning the game at the buzzer, but his three-point attempt was off. With this win, the Bucks have now won four in a row—their second-longest winning streak this season.
Lopez turns hero for the Bucks
Brook Lopez is having one of the best seasons of his career at the age of 34—he is averaging 14.9 points and is shooting 40.7% from the three-point range. Lopez has been the anchor for the Bucks' defense as he leads the league in blocks per game (2.9).
Brook did not have a great game on the offensive end against the Mavericks, as he only attempted 4 shots and finished with 4 points. However, the Bucks' big man scored the most important basket at the end of the game.
With Milwaukee down by one and just over 9 seconds left on the game clock, Mike Budenholzer drew a brilliant out-of-bounds play that led to a wide-open alley-oop for Lopez. He kept his calm and laid the ball up to give the Bucks a one-point lead which allowed them to close out Dallas for their 19th win of the season.
Giannis' streak ends
Before this game, Giannis Antetokounmpo was on an eight-game streak where he scored 30 points or more. The Greek Freak has been brilliant in the last two weeks and has risen in the MVP leaderboard. But his streak came to an end against the Mavericks as he finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds on 50% shooting from the field.
Antetokounmpo also fouled out with 2:55 left in the game but played a key role in Milwaukee's comeback.
The Bucks were down 11 in the fourth quarter, but then Giannis scored 15 points on 5-6 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line, allowing his team to steal one on the road. Giannis' streak may have continued if he didn't foul out, but he will be happy that he's team scraped out a victory.
Middleton is slowly getting back to his best
Khris Middleton missed over 20 games for the Bucks, but he finally came back this month. And while it's only been four games, it's safe to say the 31-year-old is slowly returning to form—he finished with 19 points and 5 assists against the Mavs.
Middleton has missed a long stretch of games, and it will take some time before he's back to his usual self. But the early signs have been promising, and the Bucks hope that he can hit his stride come playoff time.
