Mavs head into Milwaukee looking to keep their winning ways

What has Milwaukee done lately?

It's been a mere five games since the Bucks and Mavs last played each other. In that time Milwaukee has posted record of 2-3 which is somewhat respectable considering the troubles the team is having. Their two wins came against the good Indiana Pacers and bad Minnesota Timberwolves. They lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls. Pretty much everyone loses to them so it could be worse.

What's the biggest matchup to watch?

O.J. Mayo has had a rough last three games. He's totaled just six points in those games, all coming against the Bulls, on 3-15 shooting. Beyond that, Mayo was ejected early in the first quarter against the Wolves and had to be forcibly removed from the court. Fun week, huh? Despite all of this, Mayo is still one of the most productive players off the Bucks' bench.

It's likely that he'll either be matched up against Raymond Felton or Devin Harris when the second units take the floor. Both have been playing well of late. Felton is coming off a 22 point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans and Harris has been a net positive in his last two games.

This might not be the most exciting matchup to watch but bench units, especially the backcourt, can often determine the outcome of close games. Who knows, maybe this one will be close.

What do the Mavs need to do to be successful against the Bucks?

They need to take the energy of the #benchmode win against the Pelicans and keep it going. This will be Zaza Pachulia's first game back in Milwaukee since Dallas traded for him in the summer. It would be nice if his "welcome home" included a W for the Mavs. If Dallas can get hot from deep and clean the glass, they should be able to do just that.

How to watch

As usual, the game will be on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:00 p.m. CT; otherwise on NBA League Pass via your streaming device of choice.