3rd Quarter Report
Down five at the end of the second quarter, the Bucks now have the lead. They have jumped out to a 93-92 lead against the Mavericks.
If the Bucks keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 33-16 in no time. On the other hand, the Mavericks will have to make due with a 26-23 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Milwaukee Bucks @ Dallas Mavericks
Current Records: Milwaukee 32-16, Dallas 26-22
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 8:30 p.m. ET
- Where: American Airlines Center — Dallas, Texas
- TV: Bally Sports Southwest Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $60.00
What to Know
The Mavericks will be in front of their home fans on Saturday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They will take on the Milwaukee Bucks at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they’ll have plenty of motivation to get the ‘W’.
The Mavericks managed to keep up with the Timberwolves until halftime on Wednesday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Dallas suffered a grim 121-87 defeat to the Timberwolves. The result shouldn’t come as a shock considering that’s the fewest points the Mavericks have scored all season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, the Mavericks struggled to work together and finished the game with only 18 assists. They were dismantled by their opponents in that department as the Timberwolves posted 31 assists.
The Bucks came into the contest on Wednesday with a huge advantage in the spread, but given the result that advantage might’ve gone to their heads. They fell just short of Portland by a score of 119-116. For those keeping track at home, that’s the closest loss the Bucks have suffered since November 9, 2023.
The loss doesn’t tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 27 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. He has been hot recently, having posted 27 or more points the last three times he’s played. Another player making a difference was Khris Middleton, who scored 21 points along with eight assists.
Dallas’ defeat dropped their record down to 26-22. As for Milwaukee, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 32-16 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. The Mavericks haven’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 118.2 points per game. However, it’s not like the Bucks (currently ranked second in scoring) struggle in that department as they’ve been averaging 123.9 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
The Mavericks came up short against the Bucks in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, falling 132-125. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Antetokounmpo, who dropped a double-double on 40 points and 15 rebounds. Now that the Mavericks know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check CBSSports.com after the match to find out.
Odds
Milwaukee is a 5-point favorite against Dallas, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Bucks, as the game opened with the Bucks as a 3.5-point favorite.
The oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and set the over/under at a high 245 points.
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Series History
Milwaukee has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Dallas.
- Nov 18, 2023 – Milwaukee 132 vs. Dallas 125
- Dec 09, 2022 – Milwaukee 106 vs. Dallas 105
- Nov 27, 2022 – Milwaukee 124 vs. Dallas 115
- Apr 03, 2022 – Dallas 118 vs. Milwaukee 112
- Dec 23, 2021 – Milwaukee 102 vs. Dallas 95
- Apr 08, 2021 – Dallas 116 vs. Milwaukee 101
- Jan 15, 2021 – Milwaukee 112 vs. Dallas 109
- Aug 08, 2020 – Dallas 136 vs. Milwaukee 132
- Dec 16, 2019 – Dallas 120 vs. Milwaukee 116
- Feb 08, 2019 – Milwaukee 122 vs. Dallas 107
