The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 107-102, at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday evening.
The Cavaliers (19-53) caught a break before the game even tipped off, as the Bucks (53-19) announced that Nikola Mirotic would miss the next several weeks with a thumb injury he'd suffered Tuesday against the Lakers, and that Giannis Antetokounmpo would sit a second straight game due to his ankle sprain. Cleveland took advantage of the short-handed visitors early, jumping out to a 30-24 first-quarter lead that they'd extended to 58-47 by halftime. Milwaukee did make a game of it in the third by wiping out all but one point of their deficit, but the home squad was able close out the win in the final minute on a pair of Jordan Clarkson free throws.
Khris Middleton led the way for the Bucks with a 26-point, 12-rebound double-double that also included one assist, one steal and one block. Eric Bledsoe followed with 24 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Brook Lopez checked in with 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal. Patrick Connaughton supplied 11 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Tony Snell and Ersan Ilyasova contributed matching eight-point tallies while also pulling down eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
Collin Sexton paced the Cavaliers with 25 points, three assists and two rebounds. Clarkson poured in 23 points and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Brandon Knight totaled 13 points, four assists and two rebounds. Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic generated matching eight-point tallies, with the latter also notably bringing down 10 rebounds. Kevin Love pitched in six points and 10 rebounds over 18 minutes.
The Bucks head back home to tangle with the Miami Heat on Friday night, while the Cavaliers remain home and face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday evening as well.
