Cavaliers 124-101 Bucks (December 20, 2024) Game Summary

CLEVELAND — — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Darius Garland added 16 and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved to 15-1 at home with a 124-101 victory Friday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, playing for the first time since winning the NBA Cup.

Cleveland is 3-0 this season against Milwaukee, which was without All-Star guard Damian Lillard because of a strained calf.

Evan Mobley scored 15 and Cleveland made 20 3-pointers while pushing its league-best record to 24-4.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 14 rebounds for the Bucks, who may need a few more days to shake off their collective hangover after winning the Cup on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

With Lillard sidelined, the Bucks were missing their second-best player and 25.7 points per game. match. Milwaukee’s starting guards – Andre Jackson Jr. and AJ Green – shot a combined 0-of-9.

Takeaways

Bucks: Coach Doc Rivers doesn’t think Lillard’s injury is “serious” and the team is being cautious. … Rivers said it was “weird” to win a tournament and resume play. The turnaround didn’t give Milwaukee’s players much time to recover. Rivers hopes the league addresses the tight window in the future.

Cavaliers: Max Strus made his season debut after being sidelined with an ankle injury. He finished with nine points in 19 minutes.

Key moment

After Strus made a 3-pointer, Caris LeVert dropped a layup and then poked away Milwaukee’s inbounds pass. The ball came to Mitchell, who buried a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in the third quarter to put the Cavs up 27.

Key state

Antetokounmpo was named MVP of the Cup, the ninth trophy the eight-time All-Star and two-time league MVP has won during his career — the most of any player. Michael Jordan and LeBron James each won eight.

Next

The Bucks host Washington on Saturday. It’s also a back-to-back for the Cavaliers, who host Philadelphia.

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