At the top of the NBA everything is governed by a narrow margin of maneuver. Small details become capitalized and their value is magnified, but it is only appreciated when it is too late, i.e. at the end of the games. The Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks they have relearned that maxim the hard way in a bitter defeat at his hands Milwaukee Bucks 106-105, fruit of their own mistakes.
Unforced errors in the only throw that can be made in this sport always under the same circumstances and conditions: the free throws.
The Mavs had a win of great weight and importance on their hands at this particular moment in the Western Conference. With 10 seconds to end and +1 Dorian Finney-Smith had two shots on the board to seal the match or, at the very least, force overtime. Fore missed both, giving possession to the Bucks, who had a chance to score after the timeout.
Brook Lopez’s game winner 🔥#FearTheDeer https://t.co/V83QUvkN8j pic.twitter.com/GI5PCUeJFd
—NBA (@NBA) December 10, 2022
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But these two mistakes were not isolated. At the end five minutes into the fourth quarter they missed 7 of their 11 attempts and throughout the game they accumulated a number of 10 of 24 from the penalty line, or 41.7%. In a duel in which Giannis Antetokounmpo was suspended for 6 personal foulswhere Chris Middleton reached 35.3%, Dallas dropped a win with everything going for it. In contrast, the Bucks were 19 of 23 from the free throw line (82.6%).
In his special case Doncicthe Slovenian returned to his bad habits, with 4 out of 10 cumulative which let him down at the end of the crash. A duel where he was sensational with 33 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists, but it wasn’t enough.
The problem for Jason Kidd’s is that this is not new. Generally Dallas is the third worst team in the NBA in free throw shooting percentage at 73%percentage falling to 68.2% in clutch, it is also the third below. Also, among stars averaging more than 35 minutes, Doncic is second-worst with 72.4% accuracy, only ahead of LeBron James (69.8%).
This loss ends a 3-game winning streak and drops the Mavs to 13-12, tied with the Wolves for 7th place in the West.
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