Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 31 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 116-106 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a Martin Luther King Jr. matinée.
As it turned out, Giannis never got to square off against his brother Kostas after the Mavericks called him up from their G-League affiliate, but perhaps that will come on a different day.
The Bucks struggled in the second quarter, both offensively and defensively, but they made up for it in the second half.
Six players finished in double figures. Besides Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe had 21 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 19. Brook Lopez had 16 points and 10 rebounds while Khris Middleton had 13 points. Off the bench, Sterling Brown had 11 points.
Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic recorded his first career triple-double, tallying 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
For just the 16th time in 46 games, the Bucks trailed at halftime (59-57). Dallas went up five on a three-pointer by former Marquette star Wesley Matthews, but that would be as far as things would go for the Mavericks. By the eight minute mark, the Bucks were back in front for good.
The Bucks (34-12) are now off until Friday night when they return to Fiserv Forum to face the Charlotte Hornets.
