Facing perhaps their stiffest test in this long season, the Dallas Mavericks were not only up to the challenge Sunday night on the road in Milwaukee, they picked up a signature win over the defending NBA Champions.
In a bout which featured two NBA MVP candidates, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two superstars scored plenty of points. But it was Doncic’s vision that allowed the Mavs to pull away late. Antetokounmpo utilized his size to end the night with 28 points and 10 rebounds. However, the duo of Doncic and Dwight Powell proved to be too much for the one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference to handle.
Coach Jason Kidd’s team established their offense with the pick and roll, and Powell’s connection with Luka allowed for him to have a big night, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Doncic tallied 32 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds to lead Dallas to an impressive 118-112 victory at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
After spending several years coaching the Bucks in Milwaukee, Coach Kidd was happy to get his first win in Milwaukee as a head coach since parting ways with the franchise. But he was even prouder of how his team responded after an ugly loss to the Washington Wizards on Friday night with a bounce back win in a hostile environment.
“On the road against the champs, it’s a hard place to win, especially after we had that performance in Washington,” J-Kidd said. “This group in the locker room knows they can respond.”
Though Dallas ultimately got the best of them, it was Milwaukee on the offensive early. Jrue Holiday got the scoring going with stepback three, foreshadowing what was to come. After a quick two from Doncic, Milwaukee got another three, this one from Brook Lopez. The Bucks were feeling it from behind the arc, and following a Powell layup, Holiday drained another to give Milwaukee an early 9-4 lead. However, the Mavs answered by scoring seven unanswered points to take the lead.
Both teams battled throughout the quarter until then things turned in favor of Milwaukee at the four minute mark when Khris Middleton found a cutting Holiday, who finished a tough layup and converted the three-point play. That bucket sparked an 8-0 Bucks run and Milwaukee took a five point lead. The closing moments looked much like the opening ones for Milwaukee, as they hit three consecutive three-pointers to bring their total to eight in the quarter and had Dallas down 33-25 after one.
Despite a rough defensive start to the game, the Mavs were determined in the second quarter and scored seven of the first nine points of the frame to pull within three. It was a tight quarter but Dallas managed to make a run to snatch the momentum before half. With under five minutes to play Doncic found Reggie Bullock for an and one layup. Then, after a basket by Giannis, Doncic went back to facilitating and found Dorian Finney-Smith for another layup.
Luka continued to find teammates to extend the run, and when he found Spencer Dinwiddie for a three it gave the Mavs the lead. Dinwiddie provided a huge spark offensively and knocked down another trey moments later to give Dallas a four-point edge and bring his total to 11 points in the quarter. Dallas closed out the second quarter in front 57-55 at the break.
Coming out of the locker room with the lead, the Mavericks were relentless at the start of the third quarter. Powell got it going by scoring the first five points, and after a couple of Wesley Mathews free throws, Doncic hit a pullup jumper. Dallas’s 9-2 run to start the quarter was capped off with Doncic throwing a strike to Powell down low, which he finished with a powerful dunk.
The Bucks regrouped halfway through by moving the basketball and showing the type of mettle that led them to a championship last year. Holiday sparked a 12-0 run when he found Pat Connaugton behind the arc. Connaughton hit the three-pointer while getting fouled and completed the rare four-point play. Lopez fed off the big play with a steal on the defensive end, which led to a Giannis dunk. Holiday ended the run by finding Bobby Portis on the run for a driving layup, which gave the Bucks a five-point lead.
After exchanging shots the Mavs turned up the defensive intensity to end the third with a run of their own. Much like Milwaukee’s strategy, Dallas started making the extra pass. The Mavs assisted on three consecutive three-pointers which gave them back control of the game. Despite hitting the last shot of the quarter Milwaukee still found themselves down 90-87 entering the fourth.
At the start of the final quarter, both teams went cold from the field. But after a couple of baskets from the Bucks allowed them to pull back in front, Dallas slowly started to find their rhythm. Doncic created the Mavs’ next 11 points, he scored a quick five on his own, and then found DSF and Bullock for back-to-back three-pointers, which gave the Mavs an eight-point cushion halfway through the fourth.
The game was getting out of reach, but the defending champs made a final push. Middleton found Lopez for a quick two and then Holiday hit a big 28-foot three-pointer to cut their deceit to three. But with under five minutes to play, Dallas went on one last mini run. Doncic and Powell’s connection worked again, with Powell receiving a pass and finishing it at the rim. After a Lopez three-pointer, Doncic earned a trip to the charity stripe where he knocked down three free throws. Bullock closed out their 7-3 run by hitting a pullup jumper which gave them a double-digit, 111-101 lead in the final minutes.
In the closing minutes, Dallas finished with stingy defense and Milwaukee was unable to hit shots from behind the arc, while Dallas took advantage of their lead by hitting clutch free throws late to seal the victory. After the game, Coach Kidd discussed the mindset of his team as they inch closer to the start of the postseason.
“It’s just a calm sense, steady you know, there’s no panic,” Coach Kidd said. “We all trust one another and the communication, the chemistry and accountability is high. We accept when things don’t go well. We don’t blame anyone, we learn from it, we talk about it and we move forward.”