Hits and Flops: Dallas Mavericks vs Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks continued their amazing start to the season as they won at home against the Dallas Mavericks with a scoreline of 116-106.

The Bucks have been in scorching form this season and have the best record in the entire NBA. They have become even more dominant in the recent matches winning five straight games and 12 out of their last 14. They have a superb overall record of 34-12.

On the other hand, the Dallas Mavericks have lost 4 straight games and are looking likely to miss the playoffs again. They are 13th in the Western Conference standings and have a 20-26 record.

The Mavericks had the lead at halftime but the Bucks came back very strongly in the 3rd quarter to take an eight point lead going into the fourth. The Bucks never allowed the Mavs to get back into the game and emerged out with a win.

Let's have a look at the best and the worst players from the match.

Flop - Harrison Barnes

Barnes had a poor outing against the Bucks

Harrison Barnes joined the Mavs in the 2016-17 season. He has been a vital member of the team since then.

Barnes has provided consistent scoring for the Mavs. But he was totally out of his zone in this match. He finished the game with just 8 points and 3 rebounds. He shot a very inefficient 4-15 from the field, 0-8 from the 3PT line and 0-2 from the FT line. The Mavs needed a far better performance from their forward if they had any hopes of toppling the Greek Freak and the Bucks.

Barnes has been averaging 18.2 points per game for the season. This was surely one of the worst matches he has played this season. Barnes will be expected to come out with a far stronger performance in the next match.

Hit - Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic didn't have a great shooting night according to his standards but he still became the 2nd youngest player in the history of NBA to record a triple-double. The Mavs rookie sensation has been in dazzling form this year and has also received the 3rd highest votes for the All-Star game this season.

Doncic finished the match with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He shot 6-17 from the field and 2-5 from the 3PT line. Doncic was everywhere in the match contributing immensely to the Mavs display.

Doncic is averaging 20 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game for the season and easily leads the Rookie of the Year race. The Mavs truly got a gem from their number 3 pick in this years draft. Their future greatly hinges on the development of Luka Doncic.

Flop - Khris Middleton

Khris Middleton is one of the borderline All Star players and has played a great role in the Bucks success this season. He can be an able playmaker and a terrific outside shooter for the Bucks team. But he had a night to forget against the Dallas Mavericks.

Middleton scored 13 points in the match on a poor 6-18 shooting from the field. He was also way off from beyond the arc shooting 1-7 from the 3PT line. This was one of the rare bad outings for Middleton who is thriving playing alongside Giannis.

Middleton took a huge shot to his head in this match but fortunately, he was not injured and managed to finish the match.

He has been averaging 17.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for the season and shoots 38% from the 3PT line. He will be looking to come out of his shooting slump in the next match.

Hit - Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the NBA and is having a career year with the Milwaukee Bucks. He has been the best player of the best team in the NBA and is one of the top contenders for the MVP award this season. Giannis has been putting in consistent displays in all of the matches and has been unstoppable on both ends.

Giannis was again at his dominating best in this game. He tallied 31 points and grabbed 15 boards for the match on 10-20 shooting from the field and 10-12 from the FT line. Giannis has been able to finish at the rim with ease.

Giannis has been averaging 26.5 points and 12.6 rebounds to go along with his 6 assists for the season. His displays are going to be critical for the Bucks to mount a serious challenge in the playoffs.