The Dallas Mavericks concluded their preseason games with a dominant 109-84 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in American Airlines Center on Thursday night, bringing their overall preseason record to 1-3 as the team looks to get in a rhythm before the regular season begins.
Dallas was able to pull away from the Bucks during an explosive 33-point second quarter in which the team outscored Milwaukee by 17 points, followed by a solid third quarter in which they outscored Milwaukee 29-20 to walk away with the win.
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving paced the team with 14 points and two assists while shooting an impressive 6-7 from the field, despite playing only 19 minutes, with center Daniel Gafford contributing 11 points on 4-5 shooting in only 17 minutes on the court.
Despite finishing the preseason with a record of just 1-3, the Mavericks have a lot to look forward to once the regular season begins and guard Luka Doncic is able to return to the court following a calf contusion.
Doncic suffered this contusion during the team’s training camp and was forced to sit out every game of the preseason and was only able to return to practices earlier this week.
One of the most notable storylines from the preseason was the struggle of new forward Klay Thomspon, who signed a three-year contract worth $50 million this offseason but made just 24.1% of his shot attempts and 33.3% of his three-point attempts during the preseason.
Although Thompson struggled during the preseason, Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd said after Monday’s game against the Clippers that he has gotten “great looks,” explaining that slumps are part of the “life of a shooter.”
“He’s going to keep shooting. And he made some. I think yesterday was big for him to be able to play with Luka (in practice). He hasn’t had that opportunity,” added Kidd, per Mavs.com.
“He made three (shots) in a row (Thursday), but we’ve seen that in that other jersey. So it was good to see it in our jersey.”
The Mavericks enter the season as one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals at the end of the season, largely due to the players the team brought in over the offseason.
In addition to signing Thompson during free agency, the Mavericks signed forward Naji Marshall and traded for guards Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie, who will each be asked to play key roles for Dallas throughout the season.
All three of the Mavericks’ new additions struggled to shoot during their appearances in the preseason, with each shooting under 40% from the field, but their histories indicate that these numbers will pick up once the regular season begins.
Dallas will officially begin the regular season with its home opener against the San Antonio Spurs at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, which will pose a difficult challenge to begin the year following a season of growth from center Victory Wembanyama.
