Preseason Game No. 2.
Mavericks at Milwaukee Bucks
(7 p.m., Monday, Fiserv Forum Arena, Milwaukee)
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM
About the Mavericks (1-0 in preseason): They will be playing without Kristaps Porzingis until sometime in January, coach Rick Carlisle has said. That means the starting lineup will be fluid and likely feature Dwight Powell at center with perhaps Dorian Finney-Smith at power forward and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Richardson also joining point guard Luka Dončić in the lineup. That’s what they went with in the preseason opener, with the starters only playing 16 minutes, all in the first half. Could be a longer run for them tonight . . . Jalen Brunson is being counted on to be the leader of the Mavericks’ second unit and in the preseason opener, the third-year guard appeared completely recovered from the shoulder surgery he had in February . . . The Mavericks will return home on Thursday for their final preseason game, which will be against Minnesota and No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Edwards. The regular season begins Dec. 23 at Phoenix.
About the Bucks (0-1 in preseason): They remain one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference this season . . . Two-time defending MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has helped the Bucks become one of the league’s most popular teams, but he’s ably assisted by Khris Middleton, who earned his second all-star berth last season, when he averaged 20.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 41.5 percent from 3-point range . . . The Bucks shook things up this offseason by trading for point guard Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans . . . Last season, the Bucks were No. 1 in scoring defense at over 118 points per game and No. 1 in field-goal percentage defense, holding teams to 41.4-percent shooting . . . They also were the No. 1 rebounding team in the league . . . After playing the Bucks twice in the preseason, it won’t be long until they see them again. The Mavericks come back to Milwaukee for their only regular-season visit on Jan. 15. The Bucks will be at American Airlines Center at some point in the second half of the season.
Twitter: @ESefko
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