BBNBA: Mavericks Put an End to Bucks' 18-Game Win Streak

by:Zack Geoghegan•12/17/19•

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(Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Good morning, folks. Injuries are decimating the former Kentucky guys. Let’s talk NBA.

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RECAP

No Doncic, no problem for Dallas

The NBATV game of the evening was missing a few key components. Dallas Mavericks young superstar Luka Doncic was sidelined with an ankle injury while Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe was out with a fractured fibula. Milwaukee came into the game riding an 18-game winning streak, the second-most consecutive wins in franchise history. Luckily for the Bucks, they were still able to trot out reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. But Dallas responded with a young talent of its own, Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis and guard Seth Curry each posted 26 points for Dallas while the Greek Freak exploded for 48 points. However, the Mavs were able to sneak out of Milwaukee with a 120-116 win to stop the Bucks’ winning streak once and for all.

Heat fall on the road to Grizz

I’m not quite sure what happened to the Miami Heat on Monday night, but they were thoroughly outplayed by the now 10-17 Memphis Grizzlies. Led by 20 points and 10 assists from rookie Ja Morant, the Grizz never let the Heat pull the game within five points down the stretch. Maybe it was the fact that Miami played three overtime games over the course of its last four outings because they did not look up to par. It was the Heat’s first loss to a team with a sub-.500 record.

If you take away the two recent overtime games against the Hawks and Bulls, you would find out that Bam Adebayo’s 43 minutes against the Grizz were easily his most played all season. Coming off of being named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, the former Kentucky big man registered his 17th double-double – and sixth consecutive – with 14 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks. But he shot just 4-12 from the field and was a minus-3 on the court.

🔥 HEAT WAVE 🔥

Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler & Tyler Herro cover SLAM 225: https://t.co/OVKqnB7mOw pic.twitter.com/3i6wzYA1fO

— SLAM Goods (@SLAMGoods) December 16, 2019

Tyler Herro added a BBNBA-high of 22 points on 7-20 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three assists. To say that Herro loves to shoot would be a severe understatement. His 12.0 field goal attempts per game are fifth-most among all rookies, although he’s knocking them down at a rate of just 41.9 percent. But his confidence for a 19-year old is not normal. He bobs and weaves through traffic like a veteran which he synchronizes with an already elite pull-up game. Give him another year or two to bump that percentage up into the mid-40s and we’ve got ourselves a future NBA All-Star.

Injuries, injuries, injuries

On Monday alone, Bledsoe, Devin Booker (PHX), Hamidou Diallo (OKC), and John Wall (WAS) were all missing in action due to injuries. We’ve known about Wall’s Achilles injury for a while, so that’s not a surprise, and Diallo’s injury was only just recently announced. But with Bledsoe out and Booker missing the last two games with a forearm injury, the BBNBA isn’t at its peak right now.

Other notes

The Oklahoma City Thunder won a close game, 109-106, over the Chicago Bulls. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander registered a season-low of just seven points – his only single-digit scoring total of the season – on only three field goal attempts. He did manage to contribute three rebounds, two assists, and a steal in his 34 minutes, but it was clearly not his usual performance. Nerlens Noel recorded nine points, five rebounds, and two blocks in his 19 minutes for the Thunder.

Check out the full stat sheet below.