Game ID: 22300433
Milwaukee Bucks @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Friday, December 29, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 37 22 21 31 111MIL 31 21 40 27 119
CLE vs MIL ScoutingCLE vs MIL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
CLE availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 2 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 6 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK LeVert back 12/12 after 4, 28 min since (97% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 12/16 after 2, 16 min since (95% of 17)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/16 after 3, 12 min since (94% of 13)
CLE availability going into 12/21 · back-to-backOUT Garland missed 3 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 7 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK LeVert back 12/12 after 4, 27 min since (97% of 28)
BACK Merrill back 12/16 after 2, 21 min since (124% of 17)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/16 after 3, 16 min since (128% of 13)
CLE availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 2 since 12/20, out tonight
OUT Garland missed 4 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 8 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 12/16 after 2, 19 min since (111% of 17)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/16 after 3, 19 min since (153% of 13)
CLE availability going into 12/27 · 3 days' restOUT Mitchell missed 3 since 12/20, out tonight
OUT Garland missed 5 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 9 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 12/16 after 2, 19 min since (111% of 17)
BACK Porter Jr. back 12/16 after 3, 23 min since (184% of 13)
NEW Wade 20 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 11 to 17 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 4 since 12/20, returns tonight: 36 min (101% of 36)
OUT Garland missed 6 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 10 since 12/08, out tonight
OUT Merrill missed 2 since 12/23, returns tonight: 15 min (89% of 17)
NEW Okoro 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Wade 20 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 11 to 17 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Garland missed 7 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 11 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 36 min since (101% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 15 min since (89% of 17)
NEW Okoro 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Wade 20 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 28 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 8 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 12 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 37 min since (103% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 16 min since (95% of 17)
NEW Okoro 26 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Wade 20 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 24 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 9 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 13 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 33 min since (91% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 20 min since (120% of 17)
NEW Porter Jr. 13 to 21 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 10 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 14 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 12/29 after 4, 31 min since (86% of 36)
BACK Merrill back 12/29 after 2, 22 min since (129% of 17)
MIL availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 18 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 28 min since (95% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 16 min since (72% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 23 min over the last 4
MIL availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 19 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 28 min since (96% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 17 min since (78% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 20 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 29 min since (100% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 18 min since (82% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 21 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 26 min since (91% of 29)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 17 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 22 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 26 min since (88% of 29)
MIL availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Crowder missed 23 since 11/13, out tonight
MIL availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 24 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
MIL availability going into 1/04 · back-to-backOUT Crowder missed 25 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 3 since 12/29, out tonight
MIL availability going into 1/06 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 26 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 4 since 12/29, returns tonight: 3 min (27% of 11)
NEW Beauchamp 12 to 17 min over the last 4
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; LeVert at 18 and Allen at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Mitchell (4 straight), Garland (6 straight), Eva. Mobley (10 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 129 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 28 and Lillard at 25 a game. Without Crowder (22 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Milwaukee 119, Cleveland 118, Cleveland keeping it close.
12/20 vs UTA 124-116 — CLE notes
CLE won 124-116. CLE shot 47% (45 of 96) to UTA's 51%, 23 of 51 from three, and got to the line 16 times to UTA's 28. CLE turned it over 11 times to UTA's 16. Merrill led with 27 (9 of 16, 8 of 14 from three); LeVert added 23, Strus 18. The hinge was Q1, 36-27: from level to 9 ahead. Merrill was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
12/21 vs NOP 104-123 — CLE notes
CLE lost 104-123. CLE shot 47% (41 of 87) to NOP's 55%, 17 of 44 from three, and got to the line 8 times to NOP's 16. Wade led with 20 (7 of 11, 6 of 8 from three); Okoro added 16, Allen 14. Q4 was theirs, 28-29, but the other 3 periods went 94-76 against them. LeVert's -24 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/23 @ CHI 109-95 — CLE notes
CLE won 109-95. CLE shot 44% (39 of 88) to CHI's 44%, 12 of 45 from three, and went to the line 26 times to CHI's 19 — 19 points from the stripe to their 17. The glass went 48-37 for them. Strus led with 26 (9 of 22, 5 of 17 from three); Porter Jr. added 19, Allen 19. The hinge was Q3, 25-16: a lead of 1 became 10, and the lead reached 17. Jones was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
12/27 @ DAL 113-110 — CLE notes
CLE won 113-110. CLE shot 43% (40 of 92) to DAL's 44%, 17 of 43 from three. CLE turned it over 16 times to DAL's 10, and DAL turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 57-37 for them. LeVert led with 29 (9 of 19, 6 of 11 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); Allen added 24, Okoro 22. The hinge was Q4, 31-20: CLE came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 3. CLE trailed 54-69 at the half and won the second half 59-41. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
12/29 vs MIL 111-119 — CLE notes
CLE lost 111-119. CLE took 23 more shots (103 to 80), but shot 48% to MIL's 51%, 6 of 43 from three, and got to the line just 9 times against 20 fouls committed. CLE turned it over 8 times to MIL's 17. Mitchell led with 34 (14 of 23, 2 of 10 from three); Allen added 30, Porter Jr. 14. Q1 was theirs, 37-31, but the other 3 periods went 88-74 against them. They led by as many as 15. Allen's -12 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/01 @ TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Toronto comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 120, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Siakam at 27 and Barnes at 23 a game. Without Dick (2 straight), Freeman-Liberty (30 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 16 free throws a game; Allen at 21 and LeVert at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Garland (7 straight), Eva. Mobley (11 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Toronto wins, and the game turns on the arc, Toronto at 39 percent from three to Cleveland's 33 and the line, where Toronto takes 23 free throws a game to Cleveland's 16. Call it Toronto 116, Cleveland 114, Cleveland keeping it close.
1/03 vs WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 114, shooting 46 percent and 30 from three, 18 free throws a game; Allen at 21 and LeVert at 19 a game. Without Garland (8 straight), Eva. Mobley (12 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 124, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 18 free throws a game; Kuzma at 20 and Poole at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 11 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-3 a night and Washington minus-11 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 114 a night to Washington's 124. Call it Cleveland 120, Washington 113.
1/05 vs WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 32 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and LeVert at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Garland (9 straight), Eva. Mobley (13 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 127, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 15 free throws a game; Kuzma at 22 and Kispert at 14 a game. It has lost the glass by 13 a night. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-9 a night and Washington minus-13 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 110 a night to Washington's 127. Call it Cleveland 123, Washington 111, Cleveland by 12.
1/07 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Allen at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Garland (10 straight), Eva. Mobley (14 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 32 from three, 21 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 24 and Vassell at 21 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Collins (3 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-11 a night and San Antonio minus-8 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 109 a night to San Antonio's 121. Call it Cleveland 120, San Antonio 110, Cleveland by 10.
12/21 vs ORL 118-114 — MIL notes
MIL won 118-114. MIL shot 42% (38 of 90) to ORL's 45%, 11 of 37 from three, and went to the line 35 times to ORL's 23 — 31 points from the stripe to their 16. MIL turned it over 13 times to ORL's 7. Antetokounmpo led with 37 (11 of 25, 0 of 3 from three, 15 of 19 at the line); Lillard added 24, Lopez 14. The hinge was Q2, 31-25: MIL came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 3, and the lead reached 15.
12/23 @ NYK 130-111 — MIL notes
MIL won 130-111. MIL shot 53% (48 of 91) to NYK's 44%, 16 of 32 from three. The glass went 53-41 for them. Antetokounmpo led with 28 (11 of 17, 6 of 8 at the line); Portis added 23, Middleton 20. The hinge was Q1, 36-27: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 22. Beasley was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
12/25 @ NYK 122-129 — MIL notes
MIL lost 122-129. MIL shot 47% (45 of 95) to NYK's 54%, 13 of 42 from three. Antetokounmpo led with 32 (13 of 24, 5 of 9 at the line); Lillard added 32, Middleton 24. Q4 was theirs, 35-31, the deficit cut from 11 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 98-87 against them. Connaughton's -13 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/27 @ BKN 144-122 — MIL notes
MIL won 144-122. MIL shot 58% (52 of 89) to BKN's 45%, 23 of 51 from three, and got to the line 23 times to BKN's 29. Antetokounmpo led with 32 (10 of 12, 12 of 17 at the line); Middleton added 27, Payne 18. The hinge was Q4, 44-30: a lead of 8 became 22. Payne was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
12/29 @ CLE 119-111 — MIL notes
MIL won 119-111. MIL shot 51% (41 of 80) to CLE's 48%, 12 of 29 from three, and went to the line 28 times to CLE's 9 — 25 points from the stripe to their 7. MIL turned it over 17 times to CLE's 8, and CLE turned those into 11 steals. Antetokounmpo led with 34 (14 of 22, 6 of 7 at the line); Lillard added 31, Beasley 15. The hinge was Q3, 40-21: MIL came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 12, and the lead reached 15. MIL trailed 52-59 at the half and won the second half 67-52. Lillard was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
1/01 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 33 and Lillard at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Crowder (23 straight). 2 days' rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 24 and Turner at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Bru. Brown (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 27 free throws a game to Indiana's 18 and the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-4 a night and Indiana minus-3. Call it Milwaukee 124, Indiana 120, Indiana keeping it close.
1/03 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 115, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Haliburton at 26 and Turner at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Bru. Brown (5 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 119, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 21 a game. Without Crowder (24 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Indiana 123, Milwaukee 121, Milwaukee keeping it close.
1/04 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 22 and Johnson at 21 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Collins (2 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 125, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 22 a game. Without Crowder (25 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Milwaukee has been minus-1 a night and San Antonio minus-10. Call it Milwaukee 122, San Antonio 119, San Antonio keeping it close.
1/06 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 44 from three, 22 free throws a game; Sengun at 25 and Ja. Green at 22 a game. Without Brooks (5 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 124, shooting 51 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 33 and Lillard at 21 a game. Without Crowder (26 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 44 percent from three to Milwaukee's 37. Call it Houston 120, Milwaukee 119, Milwaukee keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
CP C. Porter Jr.
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TT T. Thompson
MILAJ A. Jackson Jr.
BL B. Lopez
BP B. Portis
CP C. Payne
DL D. Lillard
GA G. Antetokounmpo
KM K. Middleton
MB M. Beasley
MB M. Beauchamp
PC P. Connaughton
CLE/MIL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 34, leads Bucks to a 119-111 win over the Cavaliers
CLEVELAND -- — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 16 rebounds, Damian Lillard scored 24 of his 31 points in the second half, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-111 on Friday night.
Antetokounmpo and Lillard each scored 14 points in the pivotal third quarter when Milwaukee outscored Cleveland 40-21 to erase a 15-point deficit and take the lead for good. The Bucks have the third-best record in the NBA at 24-8.
“When you put the basketball in the hands of your two best players, you’re going to get good results,” Antetokounmpo said. “If you want to double-team Dame, then I’m going to be open to make a play or get the ball to my teammates.”
Donovan Mitchell had 34 points, six rebounds and nine assists for Cleveland after missing four games with an illness. Jarrett Allen scored a career-high 30 points on 15-of-17 shooting and had 12 rebounds and six assists.
Malik Beasley scored 15 points on five 3-pointers and Khris Middleton had 13 points and a season-high 11 assists for Milwaukee. Brook Lopez added nine points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
“I thought we were able to break them down inside-out tonight,” said Lillard, who was 11 of 11 from the foul line, all in the second half. “Our team is growing and we’re establishing ourselves. I think it shows in this type of a game.”
Cleveland fell to 5-2 since learning that power forward Evan Mobley (left knee surgery) and point guard Darius Garland (jaw fracture) will be sidelined until February. Undrafted rookie Craig Porter Jr. scored 14 points, playing nine minutes in the fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers shot a season low 14% from 3-point range, missing 37 of 43 attempts. Caris LeVert and Georges Niang each went 0 of 6.
“It was a big point of emphasis to protect the 3-point line because they’ve been playing some really good ball,” Milwaukee coach Adrian Griffin said.
The Bucks, who went 3-1 on a four-game trip, will play just one home game during an eight-game run that ends Jan. 6 in Houston. Key offseason acquisition Lillard is averaging 26.3 points over the last six contests.
“Dame is also a guy who can singlehandedly take over a game,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “You can’t stop Giannis and him, so you have to figure out how to balance your defense. It's a challenge.”
Allen made his first nine shots and scored 18 points in the opening half, helping Cleveland take a 59-53 lead into the break. Antetokounmpo had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists in 19 minutes.
“Man, he’s tough to guard,” Antetokounmpo said of Allen. “His stats have improved so much. When a big guy like that is making jump shots and shooting those hooks over you, there is nothing you can do really to stop him.”
Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are co-owners of the Bucks.