Mavericks Unable To Shutdown Bucks In 122-107 Loss
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo got the best of 19-year-old Luka Doncic again, and Milwaukee's All-Star captain has help on the way.
Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 17 rebounds to give the Bucks their sixth straight victory in a 122-107 win against the Dallas Mavericks Friday night.
The Bucks outscored the Mavericks 80-26 in the paint. Antetokounmpo led with 13 of 19 from the field while repeatedly powering his way to dunks and layups.
Brook Lopez pitched in with his own 20 points. One of those victories was over the Mavericks at home, when Antetokounmpo scored 31 points to Doncic's 18 in a 10-point win.
"Antetokounmpo is a great player, but 80 points in the paint is just ridiculous," said Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. "In this league, you have to be able to guard penetration with a level of force and will. We did not do that."
Doncic dropped 20 points but had just three rebounds and two assists in his first game since the NBA's only teenager with multiple triple-doubles got his third.
Dallas played without Harrison Barnes since he was traded to Sacramento two nights prior while playing in a win over Charlotte. The Mavericks had already shipped starters Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan to the New York Knicks.
Both deals were more about the future than the present, signified mostly by the plan to sit the biggest prize. Kristaps Porzingis won't play the rest of the season while recovering from a knee injury the 2018 All-Star sustained last February while with the Knicks.
"It's hard," Doncic said. "They were four people that always played with me, a lot of time together. I just have to adjust to it."
Milwaukee didn't have Nikola Mirotic a day after acquiring him from New Orleans before the trading deadline. It didn't matter as the Bucks shot 54 percent despite going 10 of 36 (28 percent) from 3-point range.
Antetokounmpo attacked from the beginning, getting a layup and dunk for the first two baskets of the game. Lopez had little trouble around the rim as well, making six of eight from inside the arc while going 2 of 6 from long range.
Even guard Malcolm Brogdon backed down the Mavericks for easy buckets, finishing with 18 points along with backcourt mate Eric Bledsoe.
"We are scoring at a really high rate in the paint," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We sprinkled in a few 3s here and there."
The Mavericks look to bounce back from this loss when they play the Portland Trailblazers Sunday.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
