Home Basketball Giannis, Damian Lillard, and several others are rested by the Bucks in their preseason finale, resulting in a 109-84 loss to the Mavericks

Giannis, Damian Lillard, and several others are rested by the Bucks in their preseason finale, resulting in a 109-84 loss to the Mavericks

Basketball — 10/18/2024

The Bucks lose 109–84 to the Mavericks in the preseason finale, giving Giannis, Damian Lillard, and other players a break.

The Milwaukee Bucks lost 109–84 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday night, the last game of their exhibition series. Each team had a 1-3 record in the summer.

Guard Gary Trent Jr. was the only starter for Milwaukee who played. He scored 12 points in 22 minutes by making 6 of 14 shots. The starting player, Taurean Prince, played 23 minutes. Pat Connaughton played 15 minutes, and Delon Wright came off the bench and played 9 minutes.

Trent Jr. had the most points for the team. Tyler Smith, a rookie, had 10 boards. There were five players in Dallas who scored 10 or more points. Kyrie Irving (14 points), Klay Thompson (11 points), and Daniel Gafford (11 points) led the team. Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who used to go to Marquette University, scored nine points in 17 minutes.

The Bucks’ first game of the season is on October 23 in Philadelphia.

Bucks rest Giannis, Damian Lillard plays against the Mavericks

Doc Rivers wanted to increase Giannis Antetokounmpo’s preseason minutes after resting him for the first game in Detroit. However, after playing in 20 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers and 23 against the Chicago Bulls, the Bucks coach decided to rest his MVP hopeful against the Mavericks.

It was clear that Antetokounmpo didn’t like how the Bulls were fouling him hard, as he got a technical foul and a Flagrant 1 on Monday. Rivers thought he saw enough from the big man in a practice on Wednesday afternoon before leaving for Milwaukee to rest him.

 

 

Damian Lillard had played in all three of the Bucks’ preseason games before he hurt his right ankle against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 10. He missed one practice because of this. He also took a break.

The Bucks also didn’t get big guys Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis Jr.

Bucks rookies Johnson and Smith get to play.

AJ Johnson, who was picked in the first round of the draft, and Tyler Smith, who was picked in the second round, started for the Bucks. Smith played in his first long game of the preseason. Johnson has been the Bucks’ second or third point guard off the bench. In the last two games, he played some with the starts.