Porzingis and the Mavs survived a 48-point game by Giannis

By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net

After 18 consecutive victories, the Milwaukee Bucks were defeated for the first time since the 8th of November. Despite 48 points by Giannis Antetokounmpo and the absence of Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks got the 120-116 over the leaders of the East.

The Greek Freak also had 14 rebounds and four assists, but the Bucks shot just 41.9% as a team.

Seth Curry and Kristaps Porzingis led the way for Dallas in Doncic’s absence to combine for 52 points with 26 apiece. The Latvian forward also made a crucial block in the closing seconds of the game when the Bucks mounted a comeback with a 21-9 run.

“At the end of the day, it was amazing,” Antetokounmpo said about the 18-game winning streak. “We played good basketball. We played good teams, we played bad teams. But we were able to get the job done. Tonight, we weren’t able to do that. But nobody said it was going to be easy.”

The next big test for the Bucks is the match-up with the Lakers on Thursday.

The Blazers got the 111-110 win over the Suns, as CJ McCollum scored 30. On the other hand, Croatian Dario Saric scored 17 points and Spaniard Ricky Rubio had a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists, but on the final possession, his 3-point attempt bounced off the rim with two seconds left.

“There’s a lot of opinions in there, but if I would have made the shot, we would’ve won the game,” Rubio said. “It was almost a buzzer-beater. We’ll take that every day.”

Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds as Memphis won for the fourth time in five games, beating the Heat 118-111.

Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, James Harden had 28 and Houston set a franchise record by overcoming a 25-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-107. Swiss big man Clint Capela added 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Τhe Oklahoma City Thunder also overcame a 26-point second-quarter deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls 109-106. Italian Danilo Gallinari finished with 22 points and German Dennis Schroder had 18 off the bench for the winners.

Pascal Siakam scored 33 points, Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 11 assists, and Toronto beat the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers 133-113 with Spaniard Serge Ibaka adding 14 points.

And last but not least, Latvian Davis Bertans added 17 points and Bradley Beal scored 35 points to lift the Wizards to a 133-119 victory over the Detroit Pistons.