Stats Rundown: 3 numbers from the all-new Mavericks loss to the Bucks

A barely recognizable Dallas Mavericks team fell to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday 102 - 95. For one thing, you might have trouble picking some of the new players out of a lineup without seeing the name on the back of their jerseys, and for another, the shorthanded team was noticeably more rambunctious in the first half (and in the last game against Minnesota) than they’ve been at full strength lately.

However, even without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee clearly had the talent advantage in the game and their talent and cohesion won out in the second half.

59 minutes for our new friends

Dallas was missing ten regulars in this one due to COVID protocols and injury, so they desperately needed every new addition to play a role. Theo Pinson, Marquese Chriss, Brandon Knight, Carlik Jones, and George King combined for 59 minutes, and 25 points. They did as well as could be expected under the bizarre circumstances. Of the replacement players, only Charlie Brown Jr. didn’t get any minutes. Typical treatment for ol’ Chuck.

Chriss was particularly active with 13 points, five rebounds, three turnovers and SIX fouls in 13 minutes! He was all over the place in every sense of that phrase.

You can’t expect TOO much from these guys, but they’re really making the most of their 10-day contracts. Good for them.

72 points from Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and DeMarcus Cousins

The clearest difference in this game was Milwaukee having two of their stars, Middleton and Holiday, and a huge game from Cousins. If you squinted, he looked like the Boogie of old while taking advantage of the Mavs’ thin lineup of bigs with 22 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in 28 big minutes.

3 point shooting: Bucks 27.8%, Mavs 25%

I think I’ve forgotten what it feels like to expect a three pointer to go in after it leaves a player’s hands. Both teams had some really, really terrible misses from deep in this one. I felt bad for the poor backboard.

Here’s our latest episode of Mavs Moneyball After Dark. If you’re unable to see the embed below, click here to be taken to the podcast directly. Or go to your favorite podcast app and search Mavs Moneyball Podcast.