Milwaukee Bucks: 3 keys to victory in rematch against Cleveland Cavaliers
After taking round one of their back-to-back series, the Milwaukee Bucks will match up against the Cleveland Cavaliers for the final time this season on Saturday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Bucks picked up their third straight victory Friday night with a 123-105 win over the Cavs after a frantic and eventful day of travel going into Cleveland. Either way, the Bucks improved to 14-8 on the season following the win and will obviously look to close out their season series with a sweep over the Cavaliers.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Cleveland, meanwhile, has hit a bit of a tailspin following their hot start to the 2020-21 season now after having lost four of their last five games following their defeat to the Bucks.
While they have battled numerous injuries at this stage in the season, this slide from Cleveland certainly matches the expectations that surrounded them going into the season.
So without further ado, let’s look at three keys to a Milwaukee Bucks victory as they go for the season series sweep on the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night.
First key to victory against Cavaliers – Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo delivers encore performance
It wasn’t smooth or perfect by any means, but Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered quite the performance that furthers fuels his hot play as of late.
Finishing with a game-high 33 points on 25 shots, with 22 of those points coming during the second half, Antetokounmpo was relentless in converting point-blank finishes at the basket all while battling foul trouble for the majority of the night. The Greek superstar’s 22 paint points fueled the Bucks’ season-high 74 paint points for the night that propelled them to a nice victory, especially after having trailed for most of the first half.
With his eighth game of 30-plus points under his belt this season, Antetokounmpo will be looked on to lead a similar attack against a Cavaliers team that is trying to salvage anything out of their season series with the Bucks.
Remember, this Cavs team stands atop of the league in protecting the rim as they’re allowing a league-best 57.7 field goal percentage on shots taken within the restricted area this season, per NBA.com/stats.
Between Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen, the Cavaliers have quite the center duo that has the size, strength and length to give Antetokounmpo problems when striding towards the rim. The two-time MVP got the better of them Friday night, but time will tell how round three goes Saturday night.