The Milwaukee Bucks secured their ninth win of the season with a thrilling 112-109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Friday night.
The Dallas Mavericks entered Fiserv Forum Friday night with a 3-3 record against the Milwaukee Bucks over the past three seasons.
Dallas has always been a challenging matchup for Milwaukee, and their first matchup of the 2020-21 regular season proved no different. It was a 48-minute roller coaster ride for both teams that kept fans on the edge of their seat as two of the league’s best teams battled it out.
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In the end, the Bucks were able to let out a sizeable sigh of relief after they narrowly escaped with a 112-109 victory, their fourth straight win.
Aside from it being a thrill ride from start to finish, here are three takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ ninth victory of the season.
Milwaukee Bucks versus Dallas Mavericks takeaway No. 3 – Free throw struggles kept Dallas in the game
Free throw shooting has been somewhat of a struggle for the Bucks early this season, and it was apparent in Friday night’s contest. The Bucks shot just 12-of-25 from the charity stripe, a vile 48 percent, which undoubtedly helped keep the Mavericks within striking distance on the scoreboard.
Nine of those misses came solely from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who could not throw a rock into the ocean from the line. The Greek Freak was just 1-of-10 on the night, which is certainly unsettling. Improving his free throw shooting has always been a point of emphasis for the two-time league MVP, and he has struggled mightily there this season.
Had Antetokounmpo knocked down at least some of his attempts, this could have been a far different ball game. Giannis will continue getting his hefty share of attempts from the line every game, and he needs to capitalize on the opportunity to prevent instances like these. He undoubtedly understands this notion, which prompted him to stay out on the court after the game to work on his free throws.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is back on the court getting up shots after the game pic.twitter.com/KVAHQy36ch
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) January 16, 2021
Milwaukee Bucks versus Dallas Mavericks takeaway No. 2 – Reserves continue showing their impact
The Bucks’ remodeled bench has been one of their strong suits early this year. In particular, Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes, and D.J. Augustin have been the three that have made the most impactful difference throughout 13 games.
When these three and the rest of the second unit have clicked offensively, the Bucks are tough to beat. However, when the reserves find themselves struggling from the floor, the Bucks oftentimes find themselves with their backs against the wall. Although it resulted in a victory, Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks undoubtedly fit into the latter category as they managed to chip in just 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting.
Through 13 games, Milwaukee’s bench has proven how impactful they can be when they are firing on all cylinders. Friday’s subpar showing decreased their numbers without question, but the team currently ranks 13th in the NBA with 37.7 bench points per game.
A substantial portion of these points typically come from sixth man Bobby Portis, who is making a name for himself relatively quickly in Milwaukee. However, he finished with just his third single-digit scoring outing of the season with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting.
Portis and the rest of the reserves were far below their typical quota against the Mavericks, and it showed on the scoreboard in this wire-to-wire victory. The bench could very well be the difference-maker for the Bucks, and games such as this one showcase just how important they can be.
Milwaukee Bucks versus Dallas Mavericks takeaway No. 1 – Stellar performances from the Bucks’ leading trio
It was not a perfect outing by the Bucks’ leading trio by any stretch of the imagination, but they got the job done. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton combined to score 72 of the team’s 112 points, each impacting the game in their own meaningful way.
The free throw issues clearly plagued Antetokounmpo throughout the game, but aside from that, he was playing like his true MVP self. With 31 points on 14-of-21 shooting, including 2-of-5 from deep, it was another stellar outing for the reigning MVP.
Middleton was not far behind, catching fire after a slow start offensively to finish the game with 25 points on 8-of-20 shooting. The forward went 4-of-9 from behind the arc, including back-to-back triples during crunch time to ensure the Bucks would pull this one off and walk out winners. Middleton also chipped in eight rebounds and six assists, all while having logged just one turnover throughout his 37 minutes of action.
Lastly, Holiday clocked in another solid performance with the Bucks as he stuffed the stat sheet all-around. Shooting 7-for-15 from the field, the guard finished as the team’s third-leading scorer with 16 points, in addition to his five assists. Holiday also made his presence felt on the defensive end, snatching two steals and a block in the midst of having his hands full defending Luka Doncic.
However, this is not the only top-heavy trio in the Eastern Conference, as the Milwaukee Bucks will head to the Barclays Center to take on the new-look Brooklyn Nets in their next game this coming Monday. You can catch that matchup at 6:30 central time on TNT.