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The Milwaukee Bucks had all the means to keep their NBA-best streak alive and extend it to 19 games against a Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks. Instead, it was the Mavs who pulled off a surprising win and caught the Bucks in a struggle, becoming the first team to snap a winning streak of 15 or more games without their leading scorer, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
The Mavs had to fight for this win, however, considering the Bucks made a late push to close the game to three points in the final seconds of regulation. Having sat out star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the 4:22 mark of the fourth quarter, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer had his star suit up with 16.1 seconds left, only to see him score two dunks and draw a foul on a floater before missing the free throw.
Dallas survived after some shaky end-of-game free-throw shooting from Tim Hardaway Jr. almost gave up the lead. A couple of 26-point performances were key in this win, led by Kristaps Porzingis and Seth Curry's blazing performance off the bench.
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The Bucks shot only 41.9% from the floor and 26.8% from deep. Their upcoming game against the Los Angeles Lakers, had they remained undefeated, would have been the NBA's winningest matchup, as the two teams would have combined for a 50-6 record (89.3 winning percentage).
For what it's worth, the Chicago Bulls snapped the Miami Heat's 27-game streak in March 2013 without Derrick Rose, but given how he never suited up during that season, the team's leading scorer was actually Luol Deng — leaving them out of this conversation despite a fantastic feat.
