The Milwaukee Bucks were robbed of facing rookie sensation Ja Morant on Friday night, and they’ll miss out on Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic tonight as they welcome the Dallas Mavericks for their first and only visit to the Fiserv Forum this season.
Bucks Update
The Bucks took care of the Cleveland Cavaliers 125-108 on Saturday night in what was the second game of yet another back-to-back set. Milwaukee remains undefeated this season in back-to-back games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 29 points on 12-of-20 shooting in 24 minutes. Khris Middleton continued his under the radar MVP campaign by adding 24 points and making 8-of-12 field goal attempts. Don’t look now, but Middleton is VERY CLOSE to 50/40/90 shooting splits for the season.
Donte DiVincenzo was rock solid against Cleveland, converting on 6-of-8 shot attempts for 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 25 minutes. Robin Lopez came off the bench and dropped 16 points to help propel the Bucks to their 18th-consecutive victory.
The Bucks will be without the services of point guard Eric Bledsoe as he suffered a right fibula avulsion fracture in the Bucks victory over the Grizzlies a few days ago. Thankfully, it is only two weeks because that sounds...painful.
Player To Watch: Donte DiVincenzo
The time has come for Donte to run the offense with Bledsoe being sidelined for a few weeks. It will be interesting to see how coach Budenholzer elects to stagger his minutes tonight, but this is a good spot for the second-year guard to further showcase his abilities and prove that he belongs in the starting lineup for the long run.
Mavericks Update
It seemed like nothing could go wrong for the 17-8 Dallas Mavericks...until Saturday night’s 122-118 home loss to the Miami Heat in overtime. MVP candidate Luka Doncic went down with a “moderate ankle sprain” and had to be helped to the locker room. Moderate seems generous, especially since his ankle was literally touching the hardwood. Y u do this, basketball gods?
Even without Doncic, Dallas was able to hang tight with the Heat on the back of Tim Hardaway Jr. who dropped 28 points including six made three-pointers. Kristaps Porzingis did score 22 points, but needed 21 field goal attempts to reach that mark. The Mavs sank 17 three-pointers on Saturday night which gave them the chance to steal a win.
Even without one of their superstars, a team coached by Rick Carlisle can never be counted out.
Player To Watch: J.J. Barea
That is Bucks Killer, J.J. Barea, actually. When was the last time he had a bad game against the Bucks? Never? In all seriousness, he provides a huge spark for the Mavs off the bench and is a great veteran presence to have in the locker room. He played only 13 minutes against the Heat, but still scored 12 points. So naturally, he will probably play 20 minutes tonight and score 60 points.
Poll
Game 28: Against Dallas, the Bucks will...
This poll is closed
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61%
Win big (by 10 or more points)
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32%
Win close (by 9 or fewer points)
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4%
Lose close (by 9 or fewer points)
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1%
Lose big (by 10 or more points)