Giannis Antetokounmpo pours in 40 to carry Bucks past Mavericks

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 40 points on 18-for-26 shooting from the field to help rally the Milwaukee Bucks to a 132-125 win over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, November 18 (Sunday, November 19, Manila time).

Damian Lillard added 27 points for the Bucks, who won their fourth consecutive game and their second in as many nights. 

Pat Connaughton had 16 for Milwaukee, including a three-pointer with 65 seconds remaining to give the Bucks a five-point lead.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 39 points, 33 in the second half. Luka Doncic had 35 points for Dallas, which has now lost two of its past three games, and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17.

The Bucks outscored the Mavericks 43-27 in the final quarter and rallied after trailing by as many as 12 in the second half. The victory was on the second night of a back-to-back, with Milwaukee beating Charlotte, 130-99, on Friday night.

Antetokounmpo scored 15 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter and led all players with 15 rebounds for the game. He also added 7 assists.

After trailing by two points at halftime and by as many as 11 in the first half, Dallas began the third quarter on a 13-0 run to take a 71-60 lead. Doncic was responsible for 10 of the 13 Maverick points to open the second half.

Irving scored 18 of Dallas’ 40 third-quarter points to help guide the Mavericks to a 98-89 advantage after three quarters.

In the first half, a Lillard three-pointer gave Milwaukee a 55-44 lead – its largest of the game to that point – with 5:39 remaining before the Mavericks closed the half on a 14-5 run.

Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 20 first-half points, while Doncic paced Dallas with 17.

Milwaukee was without Khris Middleton, who missed the game with a right knee injury. Starting in his place was rookie Andre Jackson Jr., who was scoreless in 12 minutes. – Rappler.com