Rapid Recap: Bucks 112, Mavericks 118

The Milwaukee Bucks kept it close with the Dallas Mavericks almost from wire-to-wire, but surprisingly failed execution down the stretch ultimately doomed them to a 112-118 loss.

NBA.com Box Score

A hot-shooting Bucks team came out of the tunnel to tipoff this one, nailing 8/14 of their three-pointers to open up a modest 33-25 advantage after one. That 3-point luck quickly disappeared in the second quarter, with Dallas killing the Bucks at the rim and having a few of their own deep shots rattle in to take a 57-55 lead at halftime. Milwaukee re-gained the lead in the third period for a brief spell, but a series of three-pointers in response by the Mavericks counteracted an improved offensive period. The Bucks entered the fourth down 87-90. Milwaukee had plenty of chances to try and take the lead or come back against Dallas, but their short midrange shots just kept rimming out, alongside a just 3-14 performance from Khris Middleton, and they couldn’t find a way to pull another buck out of their hat.

Stat that Stood Out

The Bucks have been about average in terms of holding opponents corner three attempts down, but they were getting beat routinely in this contest. Following the opening minutes, the weakside defender often had to help into the lane to prevent Doncic from passing to the roller for an easy bucket. In response, Luka made some impressive passes through the teeth of the defense for weakside corner attempts as the Mavericks knocked home 5-10 from the corners, and corner attempts made up 12% overall of their 3-point shots.

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