The Milwaukee Bucks earned their sixth win of the season last night with a 100-90 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Fiserv Forum.
In the final game of their current homestand, the Milwaukee Bucks welcomed the Cleveland Cavaliers in a battle of Central Division foes.
The Bucks were coming off a sizeable 131-118 loss to the Utah Jazz the night prior, and they needed this game to bounce-back. Losing back-to-back regular season games has been a rarity for this franchise in recent memory, as they have been historically great following losses.
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However, they were given some adversity to overcome before the opening tip as reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo would be sidelined for the contest with back spasms.
Without Antetokounmpo in the lineup, several other Bucks were expected to step up, and they did just that as the team picked up a solid 100-90 win.
It was not the most thrilling game to watch, but here are three takeaways from Milwaukee’s 10-point victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night.
Takeaway No. 3 – Khris Middleton takes the reigns with the MVP sidelined
With Giannis Antetokounmpo set to miss his first game of the season, all eyes turned their attention towards Khris Middleton. Although Giannis missing time is thankful a rarity, Middleton has stepped up to the challenge whenever the Bucks are without their superstar, and Saturday night was no exception.
It was a slow start for Middleton, who had logged just three points throughout the first quarter and most of the second. However, an 8-0 run by himself to close out the first half helped jolt some energy into the forward, which helped propel a big night in Milwaukee’s victory. Middleton finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
The swingman also continued to show his much-improved facilitating capabilities, as he finished with a team-high six assists on the night. Overall, it was a fantastic night from Middleton as he elevated the Bucks over the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, he was not the only member of the Bucks to step up.
Takeaway No. 2 – Bobby Portis and D.J. Wilson step it up
With Giannis Antetokounmpo out, Bobby Portis earned the start at power forward for the Bucks, and he made sure to make the most of the opportunity.
The big man finished as Milwaukee’s second-leading scorer with 17 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range. Portis also grabbed 11 rebounds to notch his fourth double-double of the season, but given his recent struggles, it was welcoming to see him active defensively, where he racked up four steals in his 33 minutes.
This performance comes just one day after Portis had his worst outing of the season, where he logged just two points on 1-of-5 shooting against the Utah Jazz. It was a poor showing from Portis in the loss, but it undoubtedly helped motivate him to put on a show against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Portis was not the only member of the frontcourt to see an increased opportunity with Giannis out, however, as D.J. Wilson also had a solid outing that had come increasingly rare. In 15 minutes, Wilson provided an offensive spark off the bench, having scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long range. Wilson had not seen any game action in over a week before Saturday night, but he came in and made the most of his time as he tries to find his spot in the rotation.
The Bucks have two solid options at the 4-spot behind Antetokounmpo, and seeing them both thrive is a welcoming sight. These two will be key contributors for the Bucks all season, and they showed their importance in the team’s victory.
Takeaway No. 1 – Tough night for the league’s top-ranked offense
Nine games into the season, the Bucks had been the best offensive team in the entire association. They ranked first in scoring at 124.4 points per game, with the second-best team being more than five whole points lower.
While the Bucks had been red-hot offensively until this point, they cooled off significantly against the Cavaliers. This was evident by the team scoring just 100 points throughout four quarters of action, far below their typical quota to this point.
Of course, the Bucks missed approximately 27 points from their leading scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo, which should not be overlooked. Still, the rest of the roster struggled, particularly from 3-point territory, where they shot just 12-of-36 on the night as a unit. Thankfully, the Bucks managed to hold the Cavaliers to a whopping 7-of-26 from behind the arc, or things could have gotten out of hand fairly quickly.
The Bucks have been inconsistent with their long-distance shooting 10 games into the season, sometimes torching their opponents, while other nights they seem like they are unable to throw a rock into the ocean. Saturday night’s matchup certainly fit in the latter category, but it did not matter as Milwaukee prevailed with the 100-90 victory over Cleveland. Offense is proving to be a strong suit for this team early on, just not in this game.
The Milwaukee Bucks will open up a three-game road trip when they take on the Orlando Magic in a rematch after their battle in first round of last season’s NBA Playoffs. You can catch the action at 6 p.m. central time on Fox Sports Wisconsin.