Dwight Poweel (#7), Tim Hardaway Jr. (#11) and Dorian Finney-Smith (#10) of the Dallas Mavericks look on in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, December 9, 2022. /CFP
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-105 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Friday to secure the fourth straight win while ending the opponents' three-game winning streak.
The Mavericks had no one but themselves to blame for the home loss after they shot as poorly as 10-for-24 at the free throw line. How bad was that? Well, the average free throw shooting rate of all 30 NBA teams this season is 78.2 percent. The highest is 84.4 percent of the Boston Celtics; the lowest is 70.7 of the Memphis Grizzlies. By contrast, the Mavericks' free throw rate was 41.6 percent on Friday night.
What made the team's performance on this front look worse was where it came from as well as the timing. Such disappointing free throw shooting was not done by the Mavericks' big men, but by Luka Doncic (4-for-10), Tim Hardaway Jr. (0-for-3) and Dorian Finney-Smith (0-for-2), all of whom shoot to earn a living in the league.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (L) of the Milwaue Bucks guards Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks in the game at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, December 9, 2022. /CFP
And then there was the pathetic timing when the Mavs missed their free throws. At 2:55 in the fourth quarter, they trailed by one point (102-101) when Giannis Antetokounmpo fouled on Hardaway Jr. at the 3-point line. The Greek Freak was fouled out and Hardaway Jr. had the opportunity to gain back both the lead and the momentum for his team.
Then he missed all three free throws. About two minutes later. Finney-Smith was sent to the free throw line when the Mavericks led 105-104. There were 10 seconds left. If he had made two shots, his team wouldn't lose; if he had made one shot, his team could force the Bucks to shoot a triple.
Unfortunately, Finney-Smith missed both free throws. The Bucks called a timeout. Coach Mike Budenholzer drew a fundamental play for his players to implement. George Hill from the sideline threw the ball to the hoop for Brook Lopez to complete an easy alley-oop. The Bucks were in front again 106-105 and kept their lead until the end of the game.
Brook Lopez (#11) of the Milwaukee Bucks makes the game-winning field goal against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, December 9, 2022. /CFP
The Mavericks wasted a good chance to beat the Eastern Conference No. 2 team at home. Antetokounmpo was in a poor form in the first three quarters during which he went 5-for-14 from the field and 2-for-5 at the free throw line. Though he managed to heat up in the fourth quarter, he was fouled out after getting 14 points. Neither did Chris Middleton nor Jrue Holiday perform well enough to fill in Antetokounmpo's role.
Luka Doncic began Friday's game by shooting 3-for-4 at the 3-point line, but missed all of the seven attempts there later. Despite that, he still dropped a double-double of 33 points and 11 assists. The Bucks didn't have anyone who could contain him alone except Antetokounmpo. Nonetheless, when Doncic only had two teammates reaching double-digit points and the highest one was 15, not to mention the team's ridiculous free throw shooting, victory just flew out of their reach.
Other games on Friday (away teams come first):
Kevin Durant (#7) of the Brooklyn Nets shoots in the game against the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, December 9, 2022. /CFP
Atlanta Hawks 116-120 Brooklyn Nets
Dejounte Murray sat out the away game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the Hawks. Bogdan Bogdanovic made up for his absence with 31 points and seven triples off the bench. His efforts, in addition to the 33 points and nine assists contributed by Trae Young enabled their team to fight until clutch time.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Nets' star duo, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving matched Young and Bogdanovic by combing to score 67 points. In the final 69 seconds of the fourth quarter, Durant drained a triple to extend the Nets’ lead to five points (116-111). Though Young immediately replied a layup, it only cut the deficit by two.
Neither side could make any field goal (FG) in the rest of the game, but Irving and Royce O'Neale grabbed two offensive rebounds for the Nets to have Seth Curry and Durant step to the free throw line seal the deal by making four shots there.
Joel Embiid (#21) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 9, 2022. /CFP
Los Angeles Lakers 122-133 Philadelphia 76ers
As the competition at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered overtime (OT), Joel Embiid, De'Anthony Melton, James Harden and Tobias Harris all played over 41 minutes for the 76ers. Embiid, Melton and Harden combined to score 99 points, 20 rebounds, 19 assists and 10 steals for the team to win.
The Lakers had a good experience of riding a rollercoaster on the road. They first allowed a 16-0 run in the first quarter dropping from a four-point lead (12-8) to a 12-point deficit (24-12). Then the team responded a 14-0 run at the beginning of the second quarter. The game remained close until the final four minutes of the third quarter, during which the 76ers again extended their lead dramatically with a 11-4 run.
Anthony Davis (#3) of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 9, 2022. /CFP
The Lakers still trailed by nine points (119-110) when there were only 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter. However, somehow, they wiped that difference and would have won in regular time if Anthony Davis hadn't missed his 14th free throw. He outshined anyone else on the court with 21 points in this quarter alone.
The Lakers' energy finally ran out in OT, The team only had two points while the 76ers got 13. Nine of those points came from Harden.
Zion Williamson (#1) of the New Orleans Pelicans dunks in the game against the Phoenix Suns at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, December 9, 2022. /CFP
Phoenix Suns 117-128 New Orleans Pelicans
The Suns and Pelicans built a rivalry with each other after the six-game series in last season's playoffs. Though Brandon Ingram missed Friday's home game at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, Zion Williamson dominated the Suns' paint by shooting 13-for-17 there to get court-high 35 points. He was joined by Larry Nance Jr. who scored 14 points under the rim and contributed six offensive rebounds.
The Suns assumed that the Pelicans would have advantage on the interior, but they didn't expect Jose Alvarado to make three 3-pointers and five free throws to contribute 20 points. Last season, Alvarado made the rest of the NBA remember his name by coming out of nowhere and stealing Chris Paul's ball multiple times in the postseason. This season, he has been slowly but surely, learning to do more than that.
New York Knicks 121-102 Charlotte Hornets
Washington Wizards 111-121 Indiana Pacers
Toronto Raptors 109-113 Orlando Magic
Sacramento kings 106-95 Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons 103-114 Memphis Grizzlies
Minnesota Timberwolves 118-108 Utah Jazz