3 key takeaways from Dallas Mavericks wild loss to the Bucks

Takeaway from Dallas Mavericks loss to Bucks: 2. Shooting

The Mavs rely heavily on 3-point shooting, and their results can often be determined by how well they shot on a given night. It sways from quarter to quarter too. Dallas takes the lead when their shots are falling, but the opposition gets right back in it when they hit a cold spell.

It happened again on Friday night. The Mavericks had 33 points in the opening quarter, and they held a one-point edge. Their shots stopped falling as Dallas scored just 15 points in the second quarter, and they trailed by three at halftime. The Mavs came back with 36 in the third to take an 11-point edge heading into the final 12 minutes.

They struggled to hit shots in the fourth, which put the Bucks back in front and led Milwaukee to the win. When the Mavericks were shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range, they had the lead, but they dipped all the way down to 32.5 percent for the game as Milwaukee came back to grab the win.

It is a make-or-miss league, and the Dallas Mavericks take that to the extreme. When they hit shots, they look unbeatable. When the shots aren’t falling, the Mavs can lose to any team in the league. They need more ball-handling and playmaking if they want to improve their consistency.