Cooper Flagg’s best effort yet not enough to beat Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg put together the best effort of his young career, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in a wild back-and-forth affair Monday night in Dallas.

Antetokounmpo ended the night with 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks in the Bucks’ 116-114 win. Flagg put up a career-high 26 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. The loss drops the Mavericks to 3-8 on the season, and the Bucks are 7-4 with the win.

The Bucks struggled against the Mavericks defense throughout the first three quarters on the second night of a back-to-back. Dallas coach Jason Kidd, a former Bucks coach from 2014 to 2018, threw creative defensive coverages — including quick double-teams, aggressive help and willing early fouls — at Antetokounmpo, and it left the Bucks without rhythm or flow offensively for the first three quarters.

Antetokounmpo figured it out in the final quarter, though. Trailing by 13 points 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Bucks’ superstar forward scored 15 of his 30 points in the final 10 1/2 minutes to lead the Bucks to a win. Antetokounmpo tallied just one assist, but the attention paid to him by the Mavericks helped open up the Bucks’ shooters, who knocked down five of their nine fourth-quarter 3-point attempts. Kyle Kuzma added two of those 3s and 10 fourth-quarter points to get to a season-high 26 points on the night.

GIANNIS THREE BALL. pic.twitter.com/CvEF1ZtgBG

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 11, 2025

The Bucks took their first fourth-quarter lead on a 3-pointer by Antetokounmpo with 5:50 remaining, but they could not hold on to it, as the Mavericks came back into the game behind a strong finish by Flagg. The rookie forward scored seven of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, including one of the game’s biggest buckets through Antetokounmpo at the rim with 28.7 seconds remaining.

COOPER FLAGG GIVES DALLAS THE LEAD.

A CLUTCH PLAY BY THE 2025 NO. 1 PICK.

WATCH THE 4Q: https://t.co/l5RllZoihm pic.twitter.com/QqoGqzYXYa

— NBA (@NBA) November 11, 2025

Milwaukee responded quickly with a bucket from Ryan Rollins (13 points, eight assists) and then a steal and dunk from Kuzma to give the Bucks a 3-point lead with 14.9 seconds left, which set the stage for a chaotic ending.

Dallas pushed the ball up the floor, and Max Christie got off a contested 3, but he missed. The loose ball bounced around for a second before PJ Washington corralled and tried another 3 from the right wing, where he was fouled by Antetokounmpo with 1.2 seconds remaining.

Washington hit the first of his three free throws but missed the second, which inspired him to purposely miss the third attempt. Washington’s third free-throw attempt hit perfectly off the front of the rim, but Antetokounmpo was able to tip it away from the rim and secure a wild win for the Bucks.