Cavs Late Burst Leads to 123-116 Victory

*** Tuesday night’s matchup in Milwaukee wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty, but as the Wine & Gold head down the season’s homestretch, stacking wins is all that matters. 

After a back-and-forth second half, the Cavaliers used an 8-0 burst midway through the fourth quarter to give themselves enough breathing room to hold off a stubborn Bucks squad down the stretch, hanging on for the 123-116 victory at Fiserv Forum. 

Cleveland jumped out to a 13-point first quarter lead, but the Bucks answered right back in the second – drilling eight triples in the period and taking a one-point edge into the halftime locker room. Both teams traded blows to start the second stanza and Pete Nance’s three-pointer with just over seven minutes to play in regulation marked the 11^th tie of the game. 

From there, Sam Merrill and Keon Ellis canned big bombs to key the 8-0 surge that put the Cavs back in the driver’s seat, holding off Milwaukee late to seal the season series. 

Evan Mobley doubled-up for the third time in his last four outings, leading both teams with 27 points and 15 boards, going 12-for-21 from the floor, grabbing six of his rebounds off the offensive glass and swatting three Milwaukee offerings – his 18^th game this year with at least three rejections. 

James Harden notched 27 points of his own, going 7-for-10 from the floor and 11-of-13 from the stripe, adding five boards and a team-high six assists as the Wine & Gold improved to 11-4 with the future Hall of Famer in the lineup. 

Donovan Mitchell didn’t shoot the ball well from the floor, but went 10-of-13 from the free throw line to tally 19 points, grabbing eight boards to go with three assists, a steal and a blocked shot in the win. 

Sam Merrill was the only other Cavalier in double-figures, jumping back into the starting lineup to finish with 17 points, going 6-of-12 from the floor, adding six boards and a pair of assists against the team that drafted him with the final pick of the 2020 Draft. Merrill led both teams with a +22 plus/minus number in his 28 minutes of work. 

“We just found a way to get some stops there, and that’s obviously our focus to finish the season,” said the 6^th-year sharpshooter. ”We didn’t have a perfect game defensively, they really shot the ball well. They hit a bunch of tough shots, and you give them credit for that. But we found a way to force some misses there, which sometimes you have to do. We got some rebounds and let our guys figure it out offensively.” 

Overall, the Cavs doubled Milwaukee’s free throw attempts, going 27-for-34 from the stripe to offset the Bucks’ 20 three-pointers. Cleveland shot 49 percent from the floor on the night, dominated Doc Rivers’ squad in the paint, 56-34, shut them out on the fast break, 15-0, and tied a season-low with just seven miscues. 

Keon Ellis led Cleveland’s second unit with eight points, going 3-of-4 from the floor, connecting on both triples he attempted, and Max Strus, in his second game back from offseason surgery, had a solid floor game with six points, six rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes of work off the bench. 

The Cavs were playing their sixth straight game without Jarrett Allen, nursing right knee tendinitis, while the Bucks were again without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s suited up for just 36 games this year. 

Former Cavalier Kevin Porter Jr. led the Bucks with 25 points and both teams with 10 assists. Milwaukee got most of its offensive production from their second unit, which piled up 57 points and 25 boards in the loss. 

*** After securing the St. Patrick’s Day victory in Milwaukee, the Cavaliers stay in the Central Division for their next stop, traveling to Chicago for a Thursday night battle with the Bulls. Cleveland closes out the three-game trip on Saturday night in the Big Easy, taking on the Pelicans before returning home for three straight – welcoming a pair of potential First Round foes when the Magic come to town on Tuesday night followed by two consecutive meetings with Miami, next Wednesday and Friday.