Mavericks AM News: Dallas Loses To Bucks By One

89. 95. 79. Final. 96

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in a one-point setback that probably wasn’t as close as the score might indicate.

On December 28, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 103-93 at American Airlines Center.

Friday night was an entirely different story.

Dallas would end up falling to a team that they had no business losing to – then again, the Mavericks had no business winning the game either, especially after taking a one-point lead with seconds left in the game and then committing their 16th turnover, which finally did them in.

Don’t be fooled by the final score of 96-95.

More from Sports Dallas Fort-Worth

On Wednesday night, head coach Rick Carlisle decided to rest his starters against the New Orleans Pelicans, a young team that didn’t take the game seriously at all. Against the Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center, it might have been better to stick with the Mavericks bench.

Those starters missing in the last game couldn’t hit shots and surrendered a 17-point deficit in the first half.

Dirk Nowitzki shook off a slow start to lead the team with 20 points, but no other starter scored more than 12, those coming on a late surge from shooting guard Wesley Matthews. Starting point guard Deron Williams and small forward Chandler Parsons combined for just eight points – the latter of those two is simply ice-cold from just about anywhere on the floor.

If not for the play of reserve guard Devin Harris, who dropped 19 points in one of his best performances of the season, this game would have been a lot uglier than it was.

The Mavericks shot a ridiculous 44 3-pointers and managed to sink just 14 of them – lots of wasted opportunities. These missed chances often in volume on the same possession, so offensive rebounding was not a problem. Dallas was dominated in points in the paint, the Bucks holding a decisive 24-point edge in that critical category.

If there’s one thing hurting the Mavericks more than anything, it’s the minimal contribution from Parsons, who played quite well against the Pelicans on Wednesday, but still hasn’t found any kind of consistency on offense.

For as big as the Pelicans win was, the Mavericks might as well have just given it back.

Dallas gets Saturday off before meeting up with the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Sunday.

Looking on to next week, it’s clear as day that the Mavericks need to win every game possible. Dallas’ only home game next week takes place on Tuesday against LeBron James and the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. The Mavericks take on the Thunder in Oklahoma City the following night and then travel to Chicago on Friday to play the Bulls, who currently hold the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-12.

Mavericks News From Around The Internet

Middleton, Bucks Beat Mavs 96-95 (Sports Illustrated via Associated Press)

Bucks shooting guard Khris Middleton was the primary catalyst as Milwaukee held on for a one-point win against the Mavericks.

NBA Title May Be Dream, But Mavs Outperforming Expectations (DMN – Tim Cowlishaw)

Entering this season, the Mavericks were supposed to be irrelevant in the tough Western Conference, but Dallas has, to this point, exceeded expectations and predictions.

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15 Summer Free Agents Who Could Interest Mavs (DMN – Eddie Sefko)

The Mavericks could wind up in the playoffs, which could entice one of these free agents to join the team next year in pushing for another NBA title with Nowitzki.

Published on 01/09/2016 at 15:01 PM
Last updated at 01/09/2016 at 13:22 PM

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