Grayson Allen was on fire last night against the Mavericks and stole the show early on with 22 points in the first half on 7/7 shooting, including 7/7 from three-point range.
The Bucks started 9-0 out the gate but have gone 5-5 over their last ten contests. On Sunday, the good vibes came out after the Bucks held on for a wire-to-wire victory over the Mavericks, who lost their fourth consecutive contest. Allen finished the game with 25 points on 80 percent shooting. He also had five assists, two steals, and one block.
“The hoop looked huge,” Allen said per ESPN.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had his usual outstanding performance as well. He led all scorers with 30 points on 57.9 percent shooting, 11 rebounds, and four dimes. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was complimentary of how Antetokounmpo and Allen’s games complimented each other last night.
“He was on fire,” Kidd said. “We gave him a lot of great looks, and he knocked them down. Giannis put pressure on the rim, and we just couldn’t get to their shooters.”
The Milwaukee Bucks shot 17/37 from behind the arc, matching their season-high mark for made three-pointers. Allen’s sizzling shot-making led this in the first half, but Antetokounmpo was ardent about ensuring the other parts of Allen’s game were also acknowledged.
“He’s not just a good shooter,” Antetokounmpo said. “If you’re sleeping and you’re being lazy, he’s going to drive the ball, drive the close-out and go and dunk it. It just makes him dangerous. As much as they respect the 3, they’ve got to respect the drive also.”
Coming into the game, it was touted as a battle between two MVP candidates, Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic. Despite spectacular performances from both, Allen completely stole the show, which may be enough to get Milwaukee’s season back on track.
