For all the drama that’s swirled around the Wine and Gold since they’ve returned from Florida, the truth is that they’ve been making beautiful music on the floor at The Q this week.
After dishing out 38 assists in Monday night’s win over the Nuggets, the Cavaliers dished out 29 more against Milwaukee – moving the ball beautifully and holding off a stubborn Bucks team to take the 113-104 decision on Wednesday night at The Q.
The Cavaliers weren’t able to pull comfortably away from their Central Division rivals to earn their 51st win of the season, but they also were never in real danger – with the Bucks taking the lead for about 90 combined seconds early in the second half. Tyronn Lue’s squad regained the lead on a Kevin Love three-pointer and never looked back, winning their sixth home game in their last seven meetings with Milwaukee.
LeBron James led six Cavaliers in double-figures with 26 points – going 9-for-22 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the stripe to go with eight assists, six boards, a pair of steals and a block. James did almost all of his scoring from point-blank range, netting eight of his nine field goals from the restricted area.
Kevin Love had one of his best games of the season’s second half – notching his team-leading 29th double-double of the year with 24 points and 10 boards. The three-time All-Star went 8-of-14 from the floor, including 4-of-10 from long-distance, adding four assists, two blocks and a steal.
Tristan Thompson also doubled-up in Wednesday’s win, finishing with 13 points and 10 boards – half of those off the offensive glass.
Kyrie Irving, celebrating his 24th birthday, followed up with 16 points, eight assists and eight boards in the win. In 15 career games against the Bucks, Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.4 points and 5.7 assists per contest.
J.R. Smith scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter – going 5-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-7 from long-distance overall.
Timofey Mozgov rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
Led by LeBron’s dominance around the rim and Cleveland’s muscle on the boards – outrebounding Milwaukee, 42-31 – the Cavaliers scored 52 points in the paint and outscored the Bucks on second-chance opportunities, 20-12.
The Wine and Gold also drained double-digit triples for a franchise-high ninth straight game and 42nd time this season, going 10-for-34 from beyond the arc.
The Bucks were paced by their impressive third-year swingman, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 24 points, six boards and six assists. Khris Middleton led both squads with a career-best 11 helpers.
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