The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off a six-game road trip with a matchup against a prominent divisional rival in the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cleveland jumped out with an early lead, and after 24 minutes of action, the Bucks trailed 63-60 at halftime. Milwaukee came out with an immediate sense of urgency in the second half by outscoring the Cavaliers by 21 over the final two quarters. In the end, Milwaukee picked up their 14th victory of the season after taking down Cleveland 123-105, extending their win streak to three games.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo paved the way for the Bucks with 33 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists in 33 minutes of burn. Along with the Greek Freak’s big night, there were several noticeable areas that stood out in this victory, both good and bad.
Without further ado, here are three takeaways from Milwaukee’s double-digit win over Cleveland Friday night.
First takeaway from win over Cleveland Cavaliers – Milwaukee Bucks struggle from the outside
The Bucks entered Friday’s contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers as a team shooting lights out from behind the arc. Heating up with a combined 42 triples in their previous two games, the Bucks certainly wanted to continue that streak by exploiting the Cavaliers’ bottom five 3-point defense to their best ability.
However, it was the complete opposite as they had one of their worst shooting nights of the season. Surprisingly, the Bucks shot a mere 7-of-22 from behind the arc (31.8 percent) and were unable to find any rhythm from distance.
Typically, if Milwaukee shoots such a subpar percentage from long-range, they do not stand a chance of coming out on top, no matter how formidable the opponent. This game proved to be a rare exception, as the Bucks used those 21 points scored off triples to help finish with an astounding 123 points on the night.
It unquestionably helped that the Cavaliers managed to shoot just 11-of-32 themselves from range. Otherwise, this matchup could have gotten ugly fast for Milwaukee’s lackluster 3-point defense. Despite the struggles from deep, the Bucks were able to run up the score by putting together a dominant showing in the post.