NBA regular season

Bucks hang on for tight win over Mavs

Reuters

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Bucks hang on for tight win over Mavs

THRILLER. Mavericks guard Luka Doncic battles for the ball between the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday.

Photo by Nick Monroe/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks escape as Mavs star Luka Doncic's desperation three-point attempt goes off the mark

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 31 points and 9 rebounds to propel the host Milwaukee Bucks to a 112-109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, January 15 (Saturday, January 16, Philippine time).

The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player made 14-of-21 shots from the floor, though he sank just 1-of-10 attempts from the free-throw line.

Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton drained a pair of pivotal three-pointers late in the 4th quarter to highlight his 25-point performance. He also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Jrue Holiday had 16 points and Brook Lopez added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, who overcame a 12-for-25 effort at the foul line to extend their winning streak to 4 games. 

Milwaukee also exacted a bit of revenge after being swept by Dallas in a two-game season series in 2019-2020.

Luka Doncic collected 28 points and 13 assists to lead the Mavs but missed a desperation three-point attempt in the dying seconds.

Tim Hardaway Jr added 22 points for the Mavericks, who saw their season-high, four-game winning streak come to a halt.

Kristaps Porzingis struggled to find his shot in his second game since returning from offseason knee surgery. The 7-foot-3 star had 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds, but he shot 6-of-19 from the floor, including 2-of-11 in the first half.

James Johnson sank a three-pointer to give Dallas a 104-103 lead with 3:09 remaining in the 4th quarter. It marked the Mavericks’ first advantage since 10-9 early in the first.

Dallas’ Willie Cauley-Stein (11 points, 11 rebounds) added a free throw before Middleton drained three-pointers on consecutive possessions to put Milwaukee on top 109-105 with 1:47 to go. 

Doncic halved the deficit with a mid-range jumper, but Porzingis’ three-point bid was well off the mark with 10.4 seconds left.

Middleton made a pair of free throws to push Milwaukee’s lead to 111-107 with 7.8 seconds left. After Doncic made a layup, Lopez pushed the advantage to 112-109 with 1.6 seconds remaining. 

Doncic’s desperation three-point attempt was off the mark as time expired.

Antetokounmpo scored 10 points to stake Milwaukee to a 30-23 lead after the opening quarter, but the advantage was whittled to two after Wes Iwundu drained a three-pointer with 1:43 left in the 2nd. 

Holiday and Middleton each converted wide-open shots from beyond the arc to give the Bucks a 55-47 edge heading into intermission. – Rappler.com

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