Talk about a big performance without their star.
The Dallas Mavericks were not supposed to stand a chance against the Milwaukee Bucks, especially on the road. However, today’s game again proved that anything can happen in NBA basketball, as Kristaps Porzingis and Seth Curry dug deep and both dropped 26 points.
Dallas took the lead with 6:10 left in the first quarter, and they never looked back. They even had a 15 point lead with 3:13 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bucks made an insane rally toward the end to almost come back, too, where Giannis Antetokounmpo scored three buckets in the last 12 seconds of the game. He missed a free throw with 5 seconds left that ended up in an offensive board, but Porzingis was able to secure a block that then led to a pair of Tim Hardaway Jr. free throws that were split but still iced the game with 2.8 seconds left.
While the Bucks may have lost, and snapped their 18-game winning streak, they’ll take a few positives form how they fought back in the closing minutes. A loss like this may be surprising, but they’re not the first elite team to lose to an unheralded team this season.
The Greek Freak continued to make his case for MVP, even with a loss. He finished with 48 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Other results:
The Rockets completed a huge comeback to defeat the Spurs 109-107. They were behind by over 20 points early in the game but wore the Spurs down in the end. James Harden (31 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST) and Russell Westbrook (31 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST) led the way as usual.
The Thunder came back from way behind against the Bulls as well, as Chris Paul (30 PTS, 10 REB, 8 AST) turned back the clock and reminded everyone that he used to be pretty good at this game.
The Grizzlies, led by a thriving Jonas Valanciunas (21 PTS, 10 REB), beat the Heat 118-111.
Bradley Beal (35 REB, 10 AST) and the Wizards schooled the Pistons 133-119. Watch out for Beal’s name to come up heavily in trade rumors in the coming months.
The Raptors took care of business against the Cavaliers 133-113. Pascal Siakam (33 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST) led the scoring while Norman Powell (26 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST) and Kyle Lowry (20 PTS, 11 AST) helped carry the load.
The Blazers beat the Suns 111-110 in a tense game. CJ McCollum rediscovered his shooting groove (30 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST) and ruined a triple-double from Ricky Rubio (10 PTS, 11 REB, 14 AST). Carmelo Anthony and Damian Lillard also scored over 20 points.
