Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 136-132 loss to Dallas Mavericks

Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 136-132 loss to Dallas Mavericks – Splash Mountain rises

Without a doubt, Brook Lopez’s long-awaited scoring outburst wound up being the biggest positive to take away from the Bucks’ crushing overtime loss Saturday night.

Over his 34 minutes and 46 seconds on the floor, Lopez led the team in scoring with 34 points on 27 shots (6-for-12 from three, 4-of-5 from the free throw line), seven boards and two blocks.

It was far from an auspicious start for the veteran big man as he managed to knock down just the first of his six threes over the course of his run in the first quarter.

But it was the following period where the 32-year-old went scorched earth and lifted the Bucks in a major way to close out their 70-point first half. Whether it was Lopez dropping in a flurry of threes or absolutely manhandling his way on mismatches down in the post, Lopez was responsible for 21 of the Bucks’ 39 point in the period.

It was expected to see Lopez struggle to reach those vast heights in what remained of the game moving forward. Nevertheless, Lopez still managed to connect on a couple of triples and accounted for six of the Bucks’ 15 total triples on the night. That now has brought Lopez up to 10-for-23 shooting from three in his four appearances in Orlando.

While Lopez’s performance defensively didn’t meet the standards set by his offensive play, he still buoyed the Bucks during their many highs and lows throughout the night.