Barnes paces Mavericks past Bucks
MILWAUKEE -- Harrison Barnes scored 13 straight points in the fourth quarter and finished with 31 as the Dallas Mavericks held off a late surge points and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 109-105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center.
Barnes hit 9 of 13 shots, including three 3-pointers, and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Dallas (32-44) also got 17 each from Dirk Nowitzki and J.J. Barea and 13 from Yogi Ferrell.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks (40-37) with 31 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. Four Milwaukee players scored in double figures and the Bucks shot 50.6 percent from the floor, but gave up 19 points on 15 turnovers.
Thon Maker scored Milwaukee's last eight of the first half and later knocked down a 3-pointer early in the third quarter to put the Bucks up 56-55. Khris Middleton later hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give Milwaukee a 64-61 lead.
Barnes hit four of six shots and scored 10 in the third for Dallas, but 3-pointers from Middleton, Maker, Tony Snell and Gary Payton II sent the Bucks into the fourth with a 78-75 lead. A 10-2 Mavericks' run capped off by back-to-back 3s from Berea made it an 85-80 game with 10:12 to play.
Dallas had to play without Nowitzki down the stretch after he left the game with a sore right Achilles, but pushed its lead to as many as 11 before a Matthew Dellavedova 3-pointer cut the Bucks' deficit to six with 6:38 remaining.
After falling behind by 10, Milwaukee recovered. A shot-clock violation gave Milwaukee the ball and a Middleton jumper made it a 104-100 game. A foul on Greg Monroe sent Barnes to the line for a pair.
Dellavedova drained a 3 to make it 106-103 but a fadeaway from Barnes restored the five-point cushion with 20 seconds remaining.
NOTES: G Gary Payton II made his NBA debut Sunday, scoring five points in nine minutes after signing a multi-year contract with the Bucks earlier in the day. Payton, 24, made 49 starts for Rio Grande Valley of the D-League this season, averaging 14.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Payton is the son of former NBA All-Star Gary Payton, who played 28 games for the Bucks during the 2002-03 season. ... Payton took the roster spot of F Terrance Jones, who was waived by Milwaukee on Saturday. ... Dallas G Seth Curry sat out Sunday after aggravating an injury in his left (non-shooting) shoulder Friday at Memphis. ... PG Yogi Ferrell started in place of Curry against the Bucks. ... The Mavericks have won eight of their last nine meetings with the Bucks.