NBA

Milwaukee Bucks at Cleveland Cavaliers

· National Basketball Association
14-12, 4-8 Away
Final
101 - 124

24-4, 15-1 Home

Donovan Mitchell scores 27 as Cavs improve to 15-1 at home, roll over NBA Cup champion Bucks 124-101

Giannis goes off for 33-point double-double in Bucks' loss to Cavs

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.

Takeaways 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.

Key moment 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.

Key stat 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.

Up next The Bucks host Washington on Saturday. It's also a back-to-back for the Cavaliers, who host Philadelphia.

Regular Season Series

CLE leads series 3-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 101 - 124
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 101 - 124
4th 7.1 shot clock turnover 101 - 124
4th 31.1 Ryan Rollins makes 15-foot pullup jump shot 101 - 124
4th 42.1 Ty Jerome makes two point shot 99 - 124

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/mil.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/cle.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCLE
40-85 FG 46-91
47 Field Goal % 51
10-27 3PT 20-47
37 Three Point % 43
11-18 FT 12-14
61 Free Throw % 86
45 Rebounds 48
10 Offensive Rebounds 9
35 Defensive Rebounds 39
23 Assists 30
14 Steals 11
4 Blocks 0
20 Turnovers 15
0 Team Turnovers 3
20 Total Turnovers 18
0 Technical Fouls 1
0 Total Technical Fouls 1
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
22 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 19
10 Fast Break Points 7
48 Points in Paint 40
17 Fouls 10
1 Largest Lead 36
Cleveland Cavaliers Cleveland Cavaliers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Larry Nance Jr., F Out Dec 21
Max Strus, G Out Dec 21
Milwaukee Bucks Milwaukee Bucks Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Gary Trent Jr., G Day-To-Day Dec 25
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F Out Dec 20
Taurean Prince, F Out Nov 13

Game Information

Rocket Arena

Location: Cleveland, OH
Attendance: 19,432 · Capacity:

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Detroit 24 6 .800 - W3
Cleveland 17 15 .531 8 L1
Chicago 14 15 .483 9.5 W4
Milwaukee 12 18 .400 12 W1
Indiana 6 24 .200 18 L6
Full Standings

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