On Monday night, the Bucks pulled an amazing rabbit out of the hat against the Dallas Mavericks. With six minutes left in the fourth quarter, down 97-92, Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. grabbed a defensive rebound and sunk a 26-foot three-point jumper. Moussa Cisse dunked two points for Dallas, Portis answered with another three-pointer.
Back and forth scoring to the six-minute mark, Giannis Antetokounmpo nailed his own three-pointer from 24 feet outside the arc, for a 105-102 lead. At 28.7 seconds, the Mavericks caught up behind Cooper Flagg for a 113-112 edge. Ryan Rollins and Kyle Kuzma followed with two-pointers and a 116-113 lead.
With 1.2 seconds on the clock, Antetokounmpo fouled P.J. Washington. Penalty mode gave him three charity shots. He made the first one, then bench players are switched in. He missed the second, and third shots, the last one is grabbed by Portis for his sixth rebound on the night.
Portis also had 13 points, Antetokounmpo added 37 points (15 pts. coming in the last period), and Kuzma tapped a season-high 26 points, off the bench.
Exciting Finish
While it is an exciting finish, the Bucks had to play wildly in rallying from 13 points behind during that last quarter. Some telling stats: 14-36 shooting on three-pointers (38.9%), and 41-91 (45.1%) from the field overall. The Mavericks only shot 41.6% from the field. They made honest misses, not shooting like it was a fire drill.
The Bucks also had pull-away wins over the Indiana Pacers (117-115) and the Chicago Bulls (126-110) last week. Against Chicago, Antetokounmpo had 41 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists. It was also the opening round of the NBA Cup play, which they won last season. They have also now won nine straight in competition.
email newsletter iconStay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
For the Pacers game, Antetokounmpo hit a turnaround jumper, from 17 feet, that beat the buzzer. He totaled 33 points and 13 rebounds. Amid boos, Turner made his first trip to Indiana, since leaving for the Bucks, He got 9 points and was lifted in a bear hug by Antetokounmpo.
Two losses sandwiched between those wins were reminiscent of last season, where the team couldn’t finish the game, or just flat.
The Houston Rockets won 122-115 on Sunday, as Kevin Durant (31) hit the tiebreaker, late in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo scored 37 points, while the Bucks’ bench was shorthanded with only Kuzma (11), Portis (11), Cole Anthony (12), and Amir Coffey.
The Toronto Raptors basically dismantled the Bucks 128-100 on Tuesday, behind Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett each scoring 23 points. Antetokounmpo was able to get 22 points, and Milwaukee only shot 43.0% on 86 attempts.
The common denominator in all 11 games this season, as in past seasons, is the strategy of totally relying on Antetokounmpo for offense. His knees will eventually hurt, and leg injuries will happen. Things may look good now, but it’s a long season. Rollins is good off the bench, and Kuzma is doing more than expected. They are good sidekicks possibly.
With an average of 33.8 points per game, so far, it would be foolish not to pass him the ball. However, the time is coming, when he won’t be there to take the pass.
The Bucks have a 7-4 record that puts them in a three-way tie with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heats for third place in the NBA Eastern Conference. They are technically tied for second place in the Central Division with the Cavaliers, as the Detroit Pistons sit on top at 9-2.
The Bucks play at the Fiserv Forum against the Charlotte Hornets (Nov. 14) and the Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 15).