Milwaukee Bucks: Grades from 124-117 loss to Cleveland Cavaliers
By Adam McGee
In spite of excellent performances from both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, the Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ playoff pursuit shouldn’t have them lacking any motivation to begin with, but a national TV game against a marquee opponent like the Cleveland Cavaliers can only have further fueled their desire to win on Monday night.
If nothing else, that seemed to translate into incredibly strong performances from both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, even if many of their teammates were unable to elevate their games accordingly.
As LeBron James wowed with a 40 point, 12 rebound, 10 assist masterclass, his Cavaliers team won many of the key battles across the floor too.
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The Cavaliers owned the Bucks on the glass, particularly at the center position. While Cleveland did an excellent job of rebounding as a team, Milwaukee’s centers could only manage five rebounds between them.
In another familiar theme, three-point defense was also incredibly costly for the Bucks on Monday. Cleveland made 15 threes in total, shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Even with that, the Bucks, Antetokounmpo and Middleton in particular, worked hard to stay close. They were there or thereabouts for much of the game, but ultimately gave up too much to Cleveland to be able to come out on top.
Without further ado, let’s focus in on how Milwaukee’s players performed individually on Monday night.