Mavericks beat the Bucks 112-102 in their preseason opener

Two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo got a scare just four minutes into Saturday night’s 112-102 exhibition loss to the Dallas Mavericks when he got popped in the eye when he collided with Dorian Finney-Smith.

Finney-Smith swooped in for a rebound and got inside position on Antetokounmpo. The two collided, with the Milwaukee star dropping to the court. With play continuing, he scooted past the end line and sat with his head in his hands before the Bucks called a timeout.

The injury didn’t come close to slowing down Antetokounmpo. He returned and scored 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Khris Middleton scored 18 points while Bobby Portis and D.J. Wilson had 14 apiece.

“Once I got back to the locker room, the doctor checked my eye, I felt good. I wanted to go out there and play,” he said. “It was the first game of the season. I didn’t want to just play two minutes and sit the rest of the game out. I decided to go out there, continue, play with my teammates and just enjoy this first game.

“It was good to be out there, good to go out there, have fun with my teammates and compete and just play basketball again.”

Coach Mike Budenholzer said the medical staff was “trying to decide whether he needed to get some stitches in his eye. … Pretty shallow cut. They glued it together. He’s fine. Just a little bit of a knock, little bit of blood. I don’t think anything more than that.”

Luka Doncic and Maxi Kleber scored 13 points apiece for Dallas and Jalen Brunson had 10 points.