Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 32 to lead the host Milwaukee Bucks to a 137-107 win over the significantly short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Milwaukee has won four straight games and eight of its last nine. AJ Green added 18 points and Kevin Porter Jr. had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists off the bench for his first triple-double of the season.
Dallas lost its third straight game and fifth in its last six. With nine players ruled out of this game and just eight available, Klay Thompson led the way with 28 points, followed by 15 from Naji Marshall. The latter added 10 rebounds.
Both teams came out firing in the first quarter. Antetokounmpo and Lillard scored the first 20 points for the Bucks, who led 40-29 going into the second.
In the second, Milwaukee gained some more separation with efficient shooting and went into halftime up 72-53.
Lillard had 26 points in the half for the Bucks, and Thompson had 15 for Dallas.
Milwaukee outscored Dallas 34-26 to take a 106-79 lead into the fourth quarter. Along the way, Antetokounmpo hit a key milestone, surpassing 20,000 career points. He is the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to reach that mark behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
To start the fourth, Porter led the group off the bench and clinched his triple-double with a fadeaway jumper and two free-throws. The Bucks’ 137 points were a season high and they shot 58.4 percent from the floor. The Mavericks shot 43.5 percent.
Milwaukee beat Dallas for the sixth straight time, encompassing three straight season series.
