The Milwaukee Bucks fought hard against the Cleveland Cavaliers but ran out of gas when Giannis left in the second quarter with a groin injury, losing 118-106. Ryan Rollins led the Bucks with 24 points
and five assists, while Donovan Mitchell dominated for the Cavs with 37 points and seven helpers.
Game Recap
It was a sensational start from the Bucks, who got off to an 11-2 start, but especially for Giannis. It was next-level stuff from the big fella, who scored or assisted on the Bucks’ first 23 points! Within that stretch, Rollins hit a few threes, as did AJ Green. Giannis was able to get out on the fast break and finish multiple times at the rim, as well as a Dirk fade for good measure. The score was 30-16 at the four-minute mark, and things were looking good. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, it was at this point that Donovan Mitchell began to fry, putting Gary Trent Jr. in the blender multiple times. After leading by a substantial margin throughout the period, the Bucks were up by just seven, 33-26, after one quarter.
The Bucks tried Gary Harris on Mitchell to open the second period, but to no avail, as the superstar put more moves on the visitors. Another Mitchell transition attack was immediately followed by an altercation between Trent and Thomas Bryant, who shoved GT into the front row, earning himself a technical foul. Both teams went dry on offence for the next few minutes, but some untimely turnovers from Ryan Rollins allowed the Cavs to eke their way in front at the five-minute mark. A few minutes later, the Hearts of Bucks fans collectively stopped when Giannis went to the locker room holding his groin. However, Kuzma was able to keep the Bucks afloat, with three buckets to end the period, as the Bucks were only down two, 57-59, after two quarters.
The team announced that Giannis would be out for the rest of the game with a groin strain at half. Former Buck Sam Merrill nailed two threes off the bat to start the third, but the Bucks responded with consecutive threes of their own. Without Giannis, Milwaukee actually did quite a good job of staying with the Cavs; Gary Trent Jr. got going a little bit, and Bobby Portis was able to use his size advantage down low. The Bucks’ guards did a solid job making the Cavs’ guards uncomfortable, resulting in numerous misses. Milwaukee ended the quarter down 88-92 going into the fourth.
AJ Green got the Bucks started off on the right foot in the final frame with a give-and-go triple, and then Trent made another few shots from inside the ark as he continued to gain rhythm. The Bucks, amazingly, were down just six with as many minutes to play as Kenny Atkinson called time. Out of the timeout, the Bucks went to their zone, which was promptly busted by Merrill, hitting his sixth three-pointer of the night. The visitors continued to fight, but the Cavs put their foot down from there, breaking the Bucks’ will, primarily behind Donovan Mitchell’s stellar play as the lead swelled to 14. Cavs win.
Stat That Stood Out
With Giannis out for much of the game, Cleveland’s size was simply too much to overcome. The Cavs beat the Bucks 54-34 in paint points.
