NBA: Antetokounmpo’s season-high points cannot stop Cavs beating Bucks

CLEVELAND – It was third-time lucky for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, and there was no better way to show that they belong among the top teams than a morale-boosting win over the 2021 National Basketball Association champions.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a season-high 45 points and grabbed 14 rebounds but could not stop his Eastern Conference-leading Bucks from falling to a 114-106 defeat at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Cavaliers’ home court.

Cleveland had lost their previous two meetings with the Bucks this season.

But with Donovan Mitchell scoring 36 points, they delivered a strong fourth quarter to ensure victory.

“The Cavs are very, very dangerous,” Antetokounmpo said.

“They have great players and a great system. I don’t see any reason for them not to get into the play-offs and have a good run – not against us, though.

“I was just trying to be aggressive tonight. When I’m aggressive, I know I can make the right play.

“I was just trying to do anything to spark the team.”

Mitchell was 15 of 16 at the free-throw line, including nine of nine in the fourth, but was also ably supported by Darius Garland (23 points) and Jarrett Allen (19).

The Cavaliers are 16-2 on home court, the best record in the NBA, while they improved to 22-11 overall and are just behind the Bucks (22-9) and the Boston Celtics (22-10) in the East.

“We needed it,” said Allen. “We lost on their court twice and we needed to show them that we are here to play.”

Their two previous defeats saw the Cavaliers fade away in the third quarter but they managed to keep it going all the way on Wednesday.

“That gives us a lot of satisfaction, we didn’t let the third quarter stop us, we came out and attacked, defended and did it all,” Allen added.

Mitchell said: “They’re going to continue to fight.

“There’s no way they just roll over, especially a team like this.

“When you go against a team that’s been together for this long, after the two games we had over there, to come here and protect home court, that’s big time.”

A 15-0 run in the first quarter gave Cleveland a lead they never surrendered en route to their win.

Four different Cavaliers scored during their pivotal, early game run, with the last points coming from Allen.

Mitchell started the contest slowly on offence, scoring four first-quarter points and sitting on seven for the first half before his buzzer-beating three-pointer sent Cleveland into intermission with an 18-point lead.

The three-pointer set the tone for a 26-point second half for Mitchell, who also dished a team-high six assists.

Behind Antetokounmpo’s 45 points, Milwaukee chipped away at the deficit in the second half.

The Bucks rallied from as many as 24 points down to pull within five points when Pat Connaughton connected on a three-pointer with 2min 21sec remaining in regulation.

But Garland answered with a jumper and a free throw to push the lead back to eight points and keep Milwaukee at bay.

The win marked Cleveland’s fifth straight, and fourth over the Cavaliers’ ongoing, six-game home stand. Milwaukee fell to 1-1 on their current five-game road swing.

Brook Lopez and MarJon Beauchamp were the only Bucks to score in double figures along with Antetokounmpo, finishing with 14 and 11 points respectively.

Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer was impressed by the Cavaliers’ performance this season.

‘’With the addition of Mitchell, everyone has the ultimate respect for those guys,’‘ he said.

‘‘They’re not surprising anyone at this point, they’ve earned everyone’s respect around the league.’‘ AFP, REUTERS