CLEVELAND, Ohio—The third time’s a charm.
After two frustrating losses at Milwaukee earlier this year, the Cleveland Cavaliers galvanized together to deliver one of their most complete performances of the season, downing the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks, 114-106, inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Wednesday night. It was Cleveland’s fifth win in a row as it improved to an NBA best 16-2 at home.
It was not only a win, but a statement, to Milwaukee and the rest of the league – Cleveland is downright dangerous.
The Cavaliers (22-11) used a massive first quarter run to pull away for most of the game. After leading by as many as 24, a fourth-quarter Milwaukee comeback, fueled by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s season-high 45 points, fell short in front of a raucous home crowd. Here’s a look at how the Cavaliers defeated the Bucks (22-9), by the numbers.
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Leading 16-14, the Cavaliers reeled off a 17-2 run. Antetokounmpo stopped the shaky stretch with a basket with 23 seconds left. He had 12 points in the first on 4 of 5 shooting, including 4 of 7 from the free-throw line. He shot 3 of 4 (75%) inside the paint in what was a harbinger of his shot selection throughout the night.
The Cavaliers led 35-20 at the end of the first quarter, their third lowest total for an opponent this season and their largest first-quarter lead of the campaign.
Milwaukee had a season-high 16 turnovers in the first half, which the Cavaliers turned into 17 points. Cleveland had just four giveaways. It was the most turnovers the Cavs have forced in an opening half since Feb. 11, 2009, when Phoenix had 18. The Bucks had nine turnovers in the second quarter as both teams made small runs before Cleveland reasserted itself with a Donovan Mitchell 3- pointer in the final seconds of the half. Milwaukee finished with 19 turnovers while Cleveland had 10 on the night.
Cleveland took a 60-42 lead into the break with Antetokounmpo having half of Milwaukee’s points.
“They were very aggressive tonight,” Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “They came out with a mindset defensively to just be the sharper team, so I think you have got to give them credit for our first half turnovers. I don’t think it was one of our better nights. Defensively they were good, and offensively, they just had more energy.”
The Cavaliers controlled the paint for most of the night, despite allowing Antetokounmpo to gash them at will in the fourth quarter. Cleveland had a 50-30 advantage through three before finishing with a 54-46 edge. The Cavaliers entered the night second in the league in opponents’ points per game inside the paint with 45.5.
Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen combined for 78 points in the Cavaliers’ victory. Mitchell had a team-high 36 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds, including a nearly flawless 15 of 16 from the line. His 15 free throws tied a career high. It was his 16th game of 30 or more points this season.
Garland had 23 points and four rebounds, his 13th game of 20 or more points.
Allen added 19 points and eight rebounds on 8 of 10 shooting. It was the third time this season he has shot 80% or better in a game. Allen was a non-factor in the first two matchups in Milwaukee as he missed the first one and played just 12 minutes in the second before exiting with a right hip injury. He played 40 minutes on Wednesday night.
Milwaukee opened up the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 95-85. The swing in momentum was brought about by a pair of Antetokounmpo points in the paint. Jevon Carter added a 3-pointer. Cleveland buckled down to toggle between 13- and 14-point leads before the Bucks again pulled to within 10 points at 109-99 with 3:03 left. Milwaukee cut it to five at 109-104 with just over two minutes left but were unable to draw any closer.
Antetokounmpo scored 16 points in the final quarter. He finished with 45 points and 14 rebounds on 17 of 27 from the field, and 11 of 16 from the free-throw line. 14 of his 17 baskets came inside the paint, with 12 of those inside the restricted area. He entered the night second in the league in points per game (18.6).
“He had an aggressive mindset the whole game,” Budenholzer said. “He really put us on his back on a night when, collectively, we need to be better. His determination, his will. We were close. We had a chance. We make one or two more possessions, maybe we can get over the hump.”
Antetokounmpo notched a season-high 45 points on 15 of 27 shooting against the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
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