Antetokounmpo took the fight from Doncic and looks to be top and MVP

They don’t say them often as some are in the East and some are in the West. The Bucks meet the Mavericks twice a year, with the Milwaukee team winning the opener against Dallas (124-115) early Monday (11/28) at the Fiserv Forum. Giannis Antetokounmpo enjoyed the hot Grayson Allen, his team had magical intervals and achieved a comfortable, fair and emphatic victory that will help them in their pursuit of the top spot in their district but also across the NBA for the ultimate advantage in the to stay playoffs.

The Greek freak was pleasant on another night, he was thrifty and consistent at both ends of the parquet. The umpires again treated him in a special way when it came to offensive fouls (he was charged with at least three controversial fouls, the replays showed), but by the end of the night he was the winner. Grayson Allen who equaled his career record seven threes from the first part was incredible, Holiday, Portis, Lopez were also excellent but so was Jevon Carter who continues to provide incredible solutions. The Bucks improved to 14-5 (11-2 home and 3-3 away) and remain in pursuit of the Celtics who are 16-4 and at the top of the league.

The Mavericks, on the other hand, fell to 9-10 (8-3 home and 1-7 away) and continue to disappoint away from Dallas. This time, however, they were overworked, having put up a big fight the night before in Toronto, being beaten on points by the Raptors, and arriving in Milwaukee via Chicago at 1 a.m. Luka Doncic went ahead but had no other supports apart from Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood, especially at those points where the home side stepped on the gas and disappeared.

The Bucks’ next opponent is the Knicks in the early hours of Thursday (1/12) at Madison Square Garden.

Antetokounmpo’s account

His stats might not excite some who were expecting 50 points and a message for the entire NBA, but Giannis was amazing in a match that required him to play smart, with substance, and with thrift. He did everything, collected 14 points in his favorite third period, took up the fight from Luka Doncic and continues on his way to his third career MVP. This was Antetokounmpo’s 4th win in six games against Doncic.

30 points
22 points on the racquet
11/17 two points
8/10 shots
11 setbacks
4 assists
1 steal
3 errors
5 fouls
7 earned fouls
+16 to +/-
39.5 USG%
at 29:24

52-38 bat points, 20-6 surprise points, 26-43 spare points, 17-21 opponent foul points, 14-15 second chance points (offensive rebounds). The Mavericks never led the game.

The race

The Bucks went into the game with tremendous momentum (15-5 after 2:27), but Lopez’s two quick fouls weren’t great news. Her first miss came after seven hits, but it didn’t come with the… downhill. Milwaukee kept the lead high, made life difficult for Doncic, Allen hit his fourth three and made it 30:16 in the seventh minute. Impressively, the Mavericks shot 67% and lost by 14, even more impressively, Antetokounmpo was hit with two offensive fouls in back-to-back periods, both of which were at least questionable. Dallas had a good period on offense to take the lead, but the first period belonged to the home side.

The truth is that the Mavericks presented a good image, even if they were constantly in the role of the hunter. They shortened to six (44-38) early in the second third, at which point Lopez hit a four from the corner for his team’s +10. Again Dallas persevered and with Doncic on the bench it was reduced to four (50-46) but again the hosts had answers. Allen hit his sixth 3-pointer to make it 53-46, his seventh to tie his career high with just under 14 minutes to go, Noora hit a long shot to make it 67-53 and the half ended in a tied putt as the teams scored 135 points but only executed nine shots in a really satisfying game.

The Mavericks’ goal was to stay close early in the third period, Antetokounmpo’s favorite. They made it with Doncic and Wood (81-77 at 28′) before Feeney-Smith was fouled and Dinwiddie scored midway through the quarter to make it 86-85. A 7-0 lead from the home side followed, with Giannis staying grounded and carrying his team while Lukas began to tire both physically and mentally. Both went on their bench near the end of the third, with the Greek Freak having 28 (14 in the period) and Doncic having 21 points, five rebounds, 12 assists but also six fouls.

The Bucks breakout, the real Bucks breakout, came early in the fourth quarter. An 11-1 run took the lead to 18 (115-97) with Kidd keeping his starters in the game but seeing no results. Doncic was drained of energy, it was clear he had nothing left to offer, and the Milwaukee team earned a fair, clean win against an opponent vastly superior in record.

THE DODECALPTA: 41-33, 73-62, 104-96, 124-115

MILWAUKEE BUCKS (Mike Budenholzer): Allen 25 (7/8 3-pointers, 5 assists, 2 steals), Giannis Antetokounmpo 30 (11/17 2-pointers, 8/10 shots, 11 rebounds, 4 assists), Lopez 13 (2/ 3 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks), Carter 14 (2 triples, 3 rebounds, 6 assists), Holiday 16 (2 triples, 6 assists, 3 steals), Portis 15 (1 triple, 10 rebounds), Connaughton 3 (1), Hill 5 (1), Mamoukelashvili, Nuora 3 (1), Matthews, Botchamp, Green, Thanasis Antetokounmpo

DALLAS MAVERICKS (Jason Kidd): Hardaway 6 (2), Finney-Smith 13 (2 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), Powell 4, Dinwiddie 22 (3 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), Doncic 27 (7/13 2-pointers, 3/7 3-pointers, 4/9 shots, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 turnovers), Wood 21 (6/11 2-pointers, 2/6 3-pointers, 3/ 4 shots, 7 rebounds, 2 assists), Kleber 6 (2), Green 8 (1), Bertans 3 (1), McGee 2, Pinson, Cabasso 3 (1), Dilikina

Milwaukee Bucks team stats: 31/49 2-pointers, 17/37 3-pointers, 11/15 shots, 47 rebounds, 28 assists, 8 steals, 5 blocks, 13 turnovers, 24 fouls

Dallas Mavericks team stats: 24/39 2-pointers, 17/41 3-pointers, 16/25 shots, 43 rebounds, 23 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks, 13 turnovers, 17 fouls