After suffering a terrible second-half collapse on Friday night at home against Minnesota, the Dallas Mavericks had a chance to redeem themselves on Saturday against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.
Opportunity seized.
Dallas hit 19 three-pointers (tying a franchise record for a regular season game) en route to a 111-79 victory over Milwaukee, the Mavericks’ third win of the season.
Though Giannis Antetokounmpo filled up the stat sheet (24 points, 17 rebounds) he struggled to just 7-20 shooting from the field due in large part to suffocating defense from Wesley Matthews.
Matthews also had a bounce-back game on the offensive end after struggling on Friday and finished with 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from deep.
J.J. Barea also contributed to the long-range barrage and finished with 20 points.
For the first two quarters, the game seemed like a carbon copy of Friday’s defeat; Dallas moved the ball efficiently (17 assists to the Bucks’ five in the first half) and Milwaukee struggled offensively. Dallas led 56-44 at the break after having a 55-43 advantage just 24 hours earlier.
The difference in the two contests is that Dallas was outscored, 31-17, in the third quarter against the Wolves, but the Mavericks outscored Milwaukee, 26-17, on Saturday in the third quarter.
Dennis Smith Jr. finished with just five points on 2-of-8 shooting, but the Mavericks were a +13 with him on the floor. He hit an early 3-pointer and then slammed home an alley-oop from Matthews in the second half.
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