The Mavericks first preseason game had a slow start. When the clock expired in the first quarter the score was 21-17 in Milwaukee’s favor. The Mavericks began the second quarter at a faster pace as the three point shots began to fall and their defensive pressure intensified.
Luka Doncic led the team in scoring finishing the night with 13 points, 4 assist and hit 3 out of 5 shots from deep and new acquisition Josh Richardson made his presence known in his Mavericks debut hitting 3 out of 4 shots from behind the arc. Rick Carlisle had most of his starting rotation play the entire first half and the Mavericks went into halftime trailing the Milwaukee Bucks by 6 points.
The Mavericks are deep. They have a second unit full of experienced players that play and gel well together. Having depth on the roster was another goal the Mavericks had entering this season. As the Mavericks took the floor to begin the third quarter of play, their 6 point deficit would quickly disappear, and the Mavericks ended the third quarter with a 13 point lead.
Dallas used a guard heavy backcourt approach to the second half as Jalen Brunson and Trey Burke both saw the floor at the same time and combined for a total of 19 points on the night. The combination of Maxi Kleber and Willie Cauley-Stein also contributed to the Mavericks quick turnaround in the third quarter. Kleber dropped 13 points and hit 3 out of 5 shots from three point range and Cauley-Stein added 4 points and also secured 5 rebounds, helping the Mavericks take full control of the game.
The younger unproven players on the Mavericks roster were granted the opportunity to grace the floor for the first time deep into the third quarter and Rick Carlisle stated with all things considered he thought his young players did well. Both Tyrell Terry and Tyler Bey played the entire fourth quarter and combined for a total of 9 points, but the player that really stood out was undrafted rookie free agent and 2 way player Nate Hinton.Hinton played 16 minutes and finished the night recording 8 points, 4 assists, hit 1 of 2 shots from behind the arc and finished the night shooting 50% from the field. Boban Marjonovic was a part of the rotation that included the younger players and played most of his minutes in the fourth quarter and Carlisle thought it was great for Boban to be out on the floor with the young players. Majornovic finished the night with 9 points and 5 rebounds.
The Bucks came close to going on a late game run after Bucks forward D.J. Wilson made a wide open lane dunk shrinking the Mavericks lead to a single digit lead with less than two minutes in the game, but the Mavericks stopped them in their tracks.
Dallas will play their second preseason game against the Bucks tomorrow night at 7:00PM.
