Milwaukee gets bludgeoned against Cleveland without Lillard
Following the high of the NBA Cup victory, the Milwaukee Bucks had the inevitable let-down game against the Cleveland Cavaliers following their NBA Cup win, losing 124-101 on the road as Damian Lillard didn’t make the trip with a calf strain. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 33 points and 14 rebounds but also had five turnovers. On the plus side, this was probably Khris Middleton’s best game thus far, ending with 14 points and three assists on 5/12 shooting. For the Cavs, it was Donovan Mitchell’s show, finishing the night with 27 points and six assists.
Game Recap
It was quite a weird start for both teams coming off the NBA Cup break, The Bucks started 3/12 from the floor. The focus that Giannis showed in the NBA Cup was notably absent from this one early. Neither team could get many buckets at the start, but some bad defensive breakdowns and silly decisions on offence allowed the Cavs to open a 17-8 lead with about five minutes left in the first. Portis entered the game and gave the Bucks some much-needed offence, and Connaughton nailed a transition three to reduce the deficit to three. A few late buckets from Cleveland and a horrible Middleton foul at the buzzer gave them a nine-point lead at the quarter’s end, leading 29-20.
Giannis finally got going a little bit early in the second, but Milwaukee continued to shoot themselves in the foot with bad shots and selfish decisions. Not communicating on defence, going for steals, and taking low-percentage shots. The body language was pretty pathetic, frankly. Ty Jerome continued to shoot open threes due to bad communication from the Bucks, and another timeout was called from Doc after calling one a few minutes prior, Cavs up 48-32 with about six minutes remaining. The Bucks picked it up slightly, but the Cavs just would not miss a three, and their lead ballooned to 20 at one point. The Bucks went 1-4 from three in the quarter, and the Cavs went 7-13. Cleveland was up 69-51 at half.
Giannis throws down the oop with one hand. pic.twitter.com/1W4zWg9jlX
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 21, 2024
Milwaukee made the adjustment to insert Delon Wright into the starting five to get some point-of-attack defence in there. But Wright’s insertion did little to slow down the Cavs, who continued to be red hot from deep, forcing a Bucks timeout with the Cavs up 81-56 early in the third. The Bucks were able to get the lead back below 20 following a three from Middleton, a driving layup from Antetokounmpo, along with some free throws and even a triple. But the Cavs just fired back, and then the quarter was topped off in horrible fashion. Bobby Portis effectively handing the ball to the Cavs on the inbound, and Mitchell making Milwaukee pay from three, Cavs up, 103-76.
Doc inserted some deep backups to start the fourth, with Ryan Rollins and MarJon Beauchamp coming in. Gary Trent Jr. made some shots, which was nice to see, but the Cavs just kept on keeping on. Beauchamp was probably the shining light in this period, racking up 10 points and four rebounds in the period. Also, Ryan Rollins went 3/6! Maybe there is hope for him to return to the rotation at some point? Overall, a forgettable night for the Bucks, coming off the high of winning the NBA Cup. Ah well, we move.
Stat That Stood Out
The Bucks actually shot alright from three as a team, going 10/27 (37%), but the problem was that the Cavs got up 46 threes and made 20 of them (43.5%). That three-point barrage was really the difference in this game.
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