Johnathan Motley and Dennis Smith Jr. Push Mavs Over Bucks

This Summer League matchup was a tight game that ended in an 81-78 win for the Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately for both teams, their most intriguing starter was unable to play. For Dallas, that’s Luka Doncic because of a Real Madrid contract conflict. For Milwaukee, Donte DiVincenzo was not able to play because of an injury suffered earlier in the week to his right groin. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean there weren’t great performances from each of their teammates.

Motley and DSJ Key in Victory

Johnathan Motley showed why he deserves some minutes this NBA season. The young power forward/center put in an efficient 20 points with 7 rebounds. An impressive game from him, as he has been one of the key pieces to this Summer League team. He has the ability to take people in the post, run the floor, and alter shots in the paint. If only he could spread the floor a little more.

Also, Dennis Smith Jr. had a decent outing as well against the Bucks. Smith was unable to get his shooting stroke going, shooting only 0-7 from deep and 4-14 overall. Not exactly the outing you want to see from your second-year point guard. Smith did finish with 10 points and also got his teammates involved, dishing out 7 assists. Other noteworthy performances were Dorian Finney-Smith, with 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson, who struggled with only 6 points on 1-of-9 shooting.

Bucks Young Guns Unable to Get Hot

The best performance from a Buck in Sunday’s action was Travis Trice II, who scored 16 points and 3 assists. Unfortunately, everyone else on the Bucks roster didn’t do much to help Trice. Christian Wood, who was amazing in Milwaukee’s debut, only scored 10 points, he but did have 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.

More disappointing was the play by D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown. These second-year players should be producing more than they are. Wilson had 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Brown had 14 points, but was only 5-15 from the field. He also had 7 rebounds, but did turnover the ball 5 times. Milwaukee needs to get more out of these three players if they want bigger roles heading into the season.