Antetokounmpo Crazy Truck in Cleveland but hopelessly alone against Cavaliers

The big win in New Orleans raised even higher expectations for the Bucks, who went to the top of the NBA in Cleveland in the early hours of Thursday (12/22) to take on the third-placed Cavaliers. They lost as much as 24 points, in a disheartening first half with little creation and a boatload of errors, in the second they struggled but couldn’t make the turnaround, which saw them lose (114-106) and see the Cavs take on them approaching high in the eastern standings.

Milwaukee fell 22-9, with Giannis Antetokounmpo great against a forest of bodies constantly getting in his way, but with no props save for some blitzes from Botchamp, Holiday and Lopez. It wasn’t a good night for the Bucks, even though they pushed hard in the second half. They’re now 14-3 at home and 8-6 on the road with hopes that Khris Middleton will be available in two nights in Brooklyn (2:30 a.m. Saturday) to play full against the Nets.

The Cavaliers rose to 22-11 (16-2 home and 6-9 away) and are therefore increasingly eyeing the East’s tip as the Celtics appear to be in a bad mood. Donovan Mitchell scored in spurts, Darius Garland followed him in execution rather than creation, Jarrett Allen “signed up” for the game in Milwaukee, and JB Bickerstaff saw his rotation of just eight get their target against a machine like Giannis reached it who wanted to fight to the end for the fall.

The Bucks remain first at 22-9, followed by the Celtics at 22-10, the Cavaliers at 22-11 and the Nets at 20-12. Simply put, the competition is starting to get outrageous in the Eastern Conference as well.

Antetokounmpo’s account

He came into the match aggressively, missing the first three shots he made but making the next three and wearing down his opponents in an incredible way. He had half the Bucks’ points at halftime (21 of 42 on 7/10 2-pointers and 7/11 shooting), but he needed a brace, which he didn’t find in the first half. In fact, he didn’t find her in the second either, despite being a machine that didn’t stop attacking. Magical performance against a team that even he knows can give the Bucks a tough time in the playoffs. Against a team that respects and appreciates.

45 points
17/26 two-hand
11/16 shots
14 setbacks
4 assists
1 steal,
2 blocks
5 errors
4 fouls
10 earned fouls
+3 to +/-
41.3 USG%
at 39:36

54-46 bat points, 9-12 surprise points, 21-21 spare points, 22-12 opponent foul points, 18-14 second chance points (offensive rebounds). 19,432 spectators watched the game.

The race

With two quick fouls from Mobley, the Bucks got their first small win early on. Giannis won fouls from Garland, Mitchell, Okoro and Mobley in the first quarter, but the Cavaliers were more efficient, going up +11 (27-16) after nine minutes of play. Milwaukee had no assists (!) and at the same time, the home team was 5/10 counting threes and seven final passes to one miss, making the 35-20 period seem normal and fair.

The situation became dramatic at the beginning of the second. 43-21 at 15 minutes was reminiscent of what happened in Memphis a few days ago, when the Bucks found their first assists of the game after 11 errors and kept the difference at…reasonable levels (43-28). They also let it drop to single digits as their defenses became more effective, but without startling the Cavaliers. Mitchell hit a 3-pointer for a 60-42 halftime lead that outplayed the bench 16-2 and foul shots 17-2.

The Cavaliers opened the second half with a 6-0 run in the first minute, and that -24 started looking too much for the Bucks. Budenholzer called for a zone defense midway through the third period, but the home side weren’t worried. They didn’t forget what happened in the game in Milwaukee and they had constant answers until 93-77 at the end of the twelve minutes when Holliday wrote with an on-air three to keep interest alive.

Antetokounmpo and Carter fumed in the fourth quarter to reduce the score to 10 (95-85), with Giannis playing with incredible tenacity to take all his chances. It made it 43 for 109-101 before Connaughton hit a 3-pointer to make it -5. And that was the best the Bucks got in Cleveland since the Cavaliers worked hard to let that game slip away.

THE DODECALPTA: 35-20, 60-42, 93-77, 114-106

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (JB Bickerstaff): Okoro 8 (2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Mobley 7 (3 rebounds), Allen 19 (8/10 2-pointers, 3/4 shots, 8 rebounds, 3 assists), Mitchell 36 (6/12 2-pointers, 3/9 3-pointers, 15/16 shots, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals), Garland 23 (7/14 2-pointers, 2/5 3-pointers, 3/ 4 shots, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), Love 9 (3 threes, 9 rebounds, 5 assists), LeVert 6 (3/10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 steals), Osman 6

MILWAUKEE BUCKS (Mike Budenholzer): Beauchamp 11 (3/5 3-points), Antetokounmpo 45 (17/26 2-points, 11/16 shots, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks in 39:36), Lopez 14 (2/ 3 3-pointers, 2/3 shots, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers), Allen 6 (2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Holiday 9 (3/12 shoot, 9 Rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers), Portis 6 (6 rebounds), Connaughton 6 (2), Ingles 3 (1), Carter 6 (2/8 shoot), Matthews

Cleveland Cavaliers team stats: 31/53 2-pointers, 10/32 3-pointers, 22/28 shots, 47 rebounds, 22 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks, 10 turnovers, 21 fouls

Milwaukee Bucks team stats: 26/53 2-pointers, 13/29 3-pointers, 15/22 shots, 53 rebounds, 20 assists, 7 steals, 5 blocks, 21 turnovers, 23 fouls