It’s now time for the regular season
We continue to get closer and closer to regular season Milwaukee Bucks basketball. In tonight’s final preseason tuneup, the Mavericks handled the Bucks with ease, 109-84.
A bulk of the regulars saw rest tonight. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton, and Bobby Portis were all listed as inactives. Milwaukee would hold a slim lead after the opening quarter at 22-21. Gary Trent Jr. led the way in scoring during the opening frame, tallying six points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Dallas stormed out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter, thanks in large part to Klay Thompson, who had his best preseason outing with his new team. At halftime, his stat line read 11 points with several threes. Pat Connaughton began to come on in the second quarter for Milwaukee, knocking down some nice shots. However, Dallas constructed a 54-38 lead at the break.
It didn’t get much better in the third quarter. Dallas continued to build up their lead, allowing some key players to keep getting some meaningful minutes out on the floor. That continued to flow into the fourth quarter. Despite getting the start, it was another rough shooting night for AJ Johnson, as he concluded his night with an 0-for-11 outing. When the dust eventually settled, Dallas earned a 109-84 victory. On to the regular season!
Stat That Stood Out
There wasn’t too much to take away from this one with a bulk of the starters sitting and Dallas surging ahead with ease. However, I’ll go with Gary Trent. This sort of fit the mold of how he can bring value to the team in two ways. First, Giannis, Dame, and Khris all were out. Trent immediately labeled himself as the leader of the offense in the early going. Additionally, he scratched out a double-digit performance without hitting a single three. I know it’s preseason, but I just thought those were two standouts that we could see replicated later throughout the season.