The Bucks sought their fifth win of the season as they played LeBron and the Cavs.
The Bucks starters were:
John Henson
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Khris Middleton
Malcolm Brogdon
Tony Snell
The Cavs starters were:
Kevin Love
Jae Crowder
LeBron James
Derrick Rose
JR Smith
Giannis started the game for the Bucks with a quick dunk, but the Cavs responded with nine straight points (5 from NBA Champion JR Smith) to build an early lead in the first. An 8-3 Milwaukee run brought the Bucks back within 1, and the Bucks were only down 18-15 midway through the opening quarter. The Cavs scored seven straight after that, though, and secured a big 39-28 lead after the first 12 minutes. Kevin Love led all scorers with 12 points, and Giannis and LeBron were just behind him with 10 apiece. The Cavs outshot the Bucks 67% to 45% from the field, 67% to 41% from distance, and were 14-15 from the charity stripe while the Bucks were just 3-3.
Dwyane Wade started the second quarter for the Bucks with a midrange jumper, and the Cavs held the Bucks at arm’s length for a while to open the second. After a short 4-0 burst later in the quarter, the Bucks were finally able to chop off some of the deficit, and found themselves down by a manageable 51-45 margin midway through the second. They eventually expanded that to a 9-1 run and pulled within 2, and an emphatic Giannis dunk not long after tied the game up at 56 with 2 and a half minutes to go. Malcolm Brogdon followed up with a 3 to give the Bucks the lead and the Bucks didn’t look back as they led 67-65 going into halftime. Giannis led all scorers with 21 points on 9-12 shooting (and 3 blocks), and Kevin Love followed him with 20 points on 5/5 from the field and 10/12 from the line. Both teams snagged 17 rebounds, and both teams shot 57% from the field in the first half.
Kevin Love started the second half with a little push-off layup, but Giannis responded with a midrange put-in of his own to stop an early Cleveland run from materializing. From there, both teams played pretty evenly but the Cavs were able to just edge out to a 79-78 lead midway through the third. The Cavs were able to build that out to a 6-point lead with 3 minutes left, but the Bucks pulled it back to a 94-90 Cleveland lead going into the final quarter. Giannis led all scorers with 36 points on 15-19 from the field (as well as 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 blocks), and Kevin Love was having a night for the Cavs with 30 points and 13 boards. LeBron was third behind them with 20 points, though he also racked up 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and a pair of steals.
Mirza Teletovic started the fourth for the Bucks with a nice 3, but the Cavs wouldn’t give up their lead early in the quarter as they kept making shots and led 107-97 after a 13-7 run. Teletovic ended that run with another 3, but Cleveland still led 111-101 midway through the final quarter. From there, the Cavs just kept holding off Bucks runs by making baskets seemingly at will, until the Bucks were able to cut the deficit to 4 at 118-114 with about 90 seconds to play. The Cavs scored the next 4 points, but Khris Middleton brought it back with a 3 to make it 122-117 with 45 seconds left. The Bucks fought hard, but the Cavs were ultimately able to put away a 124-119 win. Giannis led all scorers with 40 points, and Kevin Love and LeBron followed him with 32 and 30, respectively, to round out the top scorers. The Bucks outshot the Cavs 57% to 50% from the field but were outshot 50% to 45% from distance, and 87% (33/38) to 75% (12/16) from the free throw line. The Bucks also racked up 31 fouls to Cleveland’s 16.
Three Big Things
Giannis Antetokounmpo – I really should just set up a template that autofills Giannis as one of the Three Big Things for every postgame recap. Anyways, he did his thing yet again, going for 40 points on 16-21 from the field, and also tallying 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks. He did have some foul trouble again, as he hit his fifth with a full 8 minutes left in the fourth and ultimately fouled out with 18 seconds left, but at least he didn’t face the same early foul trouble he’s been dealing with in many of the last few games. Still, foul trouble or not, the Bucks can’t really ask for much more from Giannis than 40 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Foul Trouble – The Bucks found themselves in an early hole of their own making, as the Cavs were 13/14 from the charity stripe when the Bucks were still 1/1. This was not helped by the fact that the Bucks had racked up five fouls just 2:33 into the game. At the end of the first, the Bucks were 3-3 from the line while the Cavs were 14/15, and this 11 point difference accounted for the entirety of Milwaukee’s first quarter deficit. That deficit was also maintained throughout the game, as the Cavs ultimately shot 38 free throws compared to Milwaukee’s 16. While the Bucks put on a Herculean effort in the second to get back into the game, they cannot let teams (especially talented teams) build early leads from the free throw line and expect to win often.
Cavs Turn It Up Against The Bucks – As Jim Paschke noted in the waning minutes of the game, the Cavs bring it against the Bucks while struggling against bad teams, indicating that the Cavs respect the Bucks as a good team. In fact, the Bucks played a pretty good game, but they were just outplayed by the Cavs. In particular, LeBron (30/8/9/3) and Kevin Love (32/16/3/2/1) really brought it for the Cavs as they each had Giannis-like nights. Bucks fans have to feel good knowing that the King considers Milwaukee to be a team they have to bring their A-game against. The Bucks also played pretty well, and if they hadn’t fouled so often they probably could have come out with a win here. Of course, when you’re playing LeBron on a good night, there are gonna be times you just need to foul.
Plus/Minus Hero
DeAndre Liggins – Liggins impressed again in limited minutes, earning the plus/minus crown with a +5 mark and 3 rebounds in 8 minutes of court time. He continues to be a great energy boost off the bench, and I could see him getting more minutes in the Moose-less future with his defensive efforts. Malcolm Brogdon was the next-closest at +2, and his somehow pedestrian 22/5/6 night (which is about what Eric Bledsoe averaged last season) should not go unnoticed by Bucks fans.
Despite a much better effort this time around against the Cavs, the Bucks still fall to 0-2 against Cleveland and 4-6 on the season. Tune in to see if they can get that elusive fifth win (and break a four-game losing streak) against the Spurs in San Antonio on Friday night!