In a game between two playoff bound teams, the Mavericks defeated the Bucks 118-112 on Sunday. Luka Doncic took one over Giannis Antetokounmpo as the Slovenian wonderkid flirted with a triple-double.
Doncic finished with 32 points, leading the Mavs to a crucial victory, as well as taking over in the fourth quarter. He also had a season-high 15 assists along with eight rebounds.
Doncic led the Mavericks by scoring or assisting on each of Dallas’ first 11 points in the final period. Dallas held on by outscoring the Bucks 17-14 over the final 5:52 of play.
The Mavs extended the lead to 101-93 with 6:55 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the Bucks made a final charge to cut the deficit to 101-98 midway through the fourth quarter.
Dwight Powell responded by converting an and-1 play to make it 104-98 with 5:52 remaining. The Bucks could not get any closer, the rest of the game.
“Our defense was great. We gave up eight threes in the first quarter The second half was great, we played great defense” Doncic said on his team’s performance.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was the leading performer for Milwaukee with 28 points and 10 assists. That was the second consecutive loss for the Bucks after dropping one to the Clippers.
With tonight’s win, the Dallas Mavericks clinched their playoff place by improving to 49-30. At the same time, Luka Doncic is 4-2 vs Jokic, Embiid and Antetokounmpo this season, per Stat Muse.
The Mavs will travel to Detroit on Wednesday. They will be completing a four-game trip before finishing the regular season with two home games.
The Bucks will at Chicago on Tuesday. The Bucks are 3-0 against the Bulls and they look to sweep the regular season series.
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