Milwaukee Bucks: Player grades from 136-132 loss to Dallas Mavericks

B-. George Hill had a golden opportunity to win it in regulation, but his shot remains off and his triple attempt in the final seconds didn’t fall. On the whole, Hill’s game is definitely trending back in the right direction after a horrid start in Orlando, but the Bucks would certainly love a return of Hill’s deadeye range shooting. Outside of his 1-of-5 shooting from deep, this was largely positive, though, as Hill chipped in seven rebounds, three assists, and just one turnover.. Guard. Milwaukee Bucks. GEORGE HILL

C+. Marvin Williams was again tasked with slotting in as a tandem big man, interchanging between the 4 and 5 with Giannis for spells where the Bucks went without a traditional center. Williams performed perfectly well in that capacity, grabbing five rebounds and putting up solid resistance defensively. A bit more punch offensively would have been very welcome, but this was a steady showing nonetheless.. Forward. Milwaukee Bucks. MARVIN WILLIAMS

B+. Pat Connaughton has looked brilliant since returning from COVID-19, which is all the more impressive given he’s still considerably behind his teammates in terms of preparations. Connaughton has looked like the Bucks’ most reliable non-Kyle Korver bench shooter in recent games, and that continued here. Even more important is just how much he offers all around, though. On this occasion that manifested itself in the form of eight points, five rebounds and five assists in his 24 minutes, and a +26 in the box score in a game the Bucks lost by four. That’s pretty good. Expect Pat to become more and more central to Bud’s bench plans.. Wing. Milwaukee Bucks. PAT CONNAUGHTON

Milwaukee Bucks. DONTE DIVINCENZO. D. Donte DiVincenzo’s missed layup on a great Khris Middleton feed in overtime was essentially the moment when this one got away from the Bucks for good, but this was a very ugly showing from the second year guard beyond that. DiVincenzo has looked like merely a fraction of the player he was before play came to a halt, and the Bucks could desperately do with that changing sooner rather than later. DiVincenzo did give some solid defensive effort, which kept him on the floor in this one, but his decision making again looked off, and his shooting was hapless as he went 0-of-4 from the field.. Guard

Milwaukee Bucks. ERSAN ILYASOVA. INC.. As has been the case of late, Ersan Ilyasova’s playing time was incredibly limited on Saturday night. Just four minutes of run for the Turkish forward coincided with no box score contributions and nothing overly positive or negative for the team during that spell.. Forward

Hardly any run for Kyle Korver in this one, as Korver didn’t look to have the speed or mobility to stick with the Dallas wings in his two minutes of playing time. It’s tough to argue with that based on a -7 in that spurt, although there’s no doubt he could have offered more offensively than some of his teammates.. Wing. Milwaukee Bucks. KYLE KORVER. INC.

C. Not Bud’s best game, but a contest in which some lessons will have been learned about an opponent, and a superstar, that the Bucks are still essentially getting to know. Matthews was always the obvious choice to guard Doncic heading into the game, but the Bucks certainly could have done with switching things up quicker when it became apparent that he was unable to hang with Luka. On the other end, Budenholzer has grown fond of pulling Brook for small-ball lineups down the stretch, but Lopez’s recent play is enough that he should start rethinking that strategy. Taking Brook out is catering to the opponent, while leaving him in could allow the Bucks to dictate games on their terms. With his recent form, the Bucks need to be willing to feed Brook inside late on, and dare the defense to over-help and create space for the likes of Giannis and Khris. With no disrespect, that’s just so much more deadly than anything Marvin Williams or Pat Connaughton are likely to do in those minutes. The good news is that after a practice reportedly focused on offensive execution, the Bucks cut down significantly on turnovers and created much better shots late on. If that continues, a lot of the recent anxieties should subside in the playoffs.. Head Coach. Milwaukee Bucks. MIKE BUDENHOLZER