The Milwaukee Bucks hung on for an important win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, putting an end to the team’s losing streak at three games.
If it was typical of the Milwaukee Bucks to end their losing streak against the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first home game following last week’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, it was equally in character for them to make it much more difficult than it needed to be.
With 10:49 remaining in the final quarter, the Bucks held a 103-83 lead, and had a win probability of 99.6 percent according to ESPN. Even with LeBron James sitting on the bench for much of the time in between, with 2:04 remaining the Bucks trailed 113-112.
That run saw Milwaukee’s offense dry up entirely and the Cleveland second unit, led by Dwyane Wade and Jeff Green, catch fire, as they’re capable of doing.
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On the much more positive side of the ledger, the Bucks had put in outstanding spells of their own to build that lead in the first place, and ultimately proved to be the stronger of the two teams on the night in prevailing over a nervy couple of minutes at the end.
To do so, the Bucks needed a crucial three-pointer from Tony Snell, and a great hustle gather from Giannis Antetokounmpo for a crucial and-one, but holding off a red-hot Cavs team on a night when LeBron James was at his best is always worthy of celebration, regardless of how it had to be achieved.
With all of that in mind, let’s take a closer look at how the game played out and the key takeaways after the fact.