Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved to 15-1 at home with a 124-101 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, who played for the first time since winning the NBA Cup
CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Darius Garland added 16 and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved to 15-1 at home with a 124-101 win on Friday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, who played 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 couple 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. Milwaukee’s starting guards — Andre Jackson Jr. and AJ Green — shot a combined 0 of 9.
Bucks: Coach Doc Rivers doesn’t believe Lillard’s injury is “severe” and the team is being cautious. … Rivers said it was “weird” winning a tournament and resuming 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.
After Strus made a 3-pointer, Caris LeVert dropped a layup and then poked away Milwaukee’s inbound pass. The ball got to Mitchell, who buried a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in the third quarter to put the Cavs up 27.
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 for any player. Michael Jordan and LeBron James each won eight.
The Bucks host Washington on Saturday. It’s also a back-to-back for the Cavaliers, who host Philadelphia.
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