Game ID: 22300624
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Milwaukee Bucks
Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIL 32 29 32 33 126CLE 28 23 28 37 116
CLE @ MIL ScoutingCLE @ 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.
MIL availability going into 1/14 · back-to-backOUT Crowder missed 30 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Green back 1/06 after 4, 8 min since (69% of 11)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 17 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 1/17 · 2 days' restOUT Crowder missed 31 since 11/13, returns tonight: 19 min (86% of 22)
OUT Beauchamp missed 2 since 1/13, returns tonight: 23 min (192% of 12)
BACK Green back 1/06 after 4, 10 min since (91% of 11)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 18 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 1/20 · 2 days' restBACK Crowder back 1/17 after 31, 19 min since (86% of 22)
BACK Beauchamp back 1/17 after 2, 23 min since (192% of 12)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 21 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 1/22 · 1 day's restBACK Crowder back 1/17 after 31, 16 min since (74% of 22)
BACK Beauchamp back 1/17 after 2, 23 min since (192% of 12)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 18 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Payne missed 2 since 1/20, returns tonight: 13 min (90% of 15)
OUT Beauchamp missed 2 since 1/20, out tonight
OUT Green missed 2 since 1/20, returns tonight: 1 min (6% of 11)
BACK Crowder back 1/17 after 31, 15 min since (67% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 1/26 · 1 day's restOUT Beauchamp missed 3 since 1/20, out tonight
BACK Crowder back 1/17 after 31, 16 min since (70% of 22)
BACK Payne back 1/24 after 2, 13 min since (90% of 15)
BACK Green back 1/24 after 2, 1 min since (6% of 11)
MIL availability going into 1/27 · back-to-backOUT Beauchamp missed 4 since 1/20, returns tonight: 6 min (50% of 12)
BACK Crowder back 1/17 after 31, 17 min since (76% of 22)
BACK Payne back 1/24 after 2, 12 min since (82% of 15)
BACK Green back 1/24 after 2, 1 min since (6% of 11)
MIL availability going into 1/29 · 1 day's restBACK Payne back 1/24 after 2, 14 min since (94% of 15)
BACK Beauchamp back 1/27 after 4, 6 min since (50% of 12)
BACK Green back 1/24 after 2, 2 min since (23% of 11)
MIL availability going into 1/31 · 1 day's restBACK Payne back 1/24 after 2, 14 min since (92% of 15)
BACK Beauchamp back 1/27 after 4, 6 min since (50% of 12)
BACK Green back 1/24 after 2, 2 min since (23% of 11)
CLE availability going into 1/15 · 3 days' restOUT Garland missed 12 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 16 since 12/08, out tonight
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/17 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 13 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 17 since 12/08, out tonight
OUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 1/11, returns tonight: 20 min (157% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 26 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/20 · 2 days' restOUT Garland missed 14 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 18 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 20 min since (157% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/22 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 15 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 19 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 20 min since (160% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 16 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 20 since 12/08, out tonight
OUT LeVert missed 2 since 1/20, returns tonight: 28 min (99% of 28)
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 21 min since (164% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 27 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/26 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 17 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 21 since 12/08, out tonight
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 28 min since (99% of 28)
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 16 min since (126% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Thompson 11 to 17 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 1/29 · 2 days' restOUT Garland missed 18 since 12/16, out tonight
OUT Eva. Mobley missed 22 since 12/08, returns tonight: 21 min (66% of 32)
OUT Thompson missed 2 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 26 min since (92% of 28)
BACK Porter Jr. back 1/17 after 2, 16 min since (126% of 13)
NEW Merrill 17 to 25 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 1/31 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 19 since 12/16, returns tonight: 20 min (61% of 34)
OUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 1/26, out tonight
OUT Thompson missed 3 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Eva. Mobley back 1/29 after 22, 21 min since (66% of 32)
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 25 min since (89% of 28)
NEW Merrill 17 to 23 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 2/01 · back-to-backOUT Porter Jr. missed 3 since 1/26, out tonight
OUT Thompson missed 4 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Garland back 1/31 after 19, 20 min since (61% of 34)
BACK Eva. Mobley back 1/29 after 22, 22 min since (69% of 32)
BACK LeVert back 1/24 after 2, 25 min since (89% of 28)
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 126 a night and allowing 129, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 28 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 30 and Lillard at 27 a game. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 96, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Niang at 15 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Garland (16 straight), Eva. Mobley (20 straight), LeVert (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 96 a night to Milwaukee's 129 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-8 a night and Milwaukee minus-0. Call it Cleveland 120, Milwaukee 115.
1/14 vs SAC 143-142 — MIL notes
MIL won 143-142 in 1 overtime. MIL shot 52% (48 of 92) to SAC's 52%, 20 of 43 from three, and went to the line 32 times to SAC's 20 — 27 points from the stripe to their 15. Lillard led with 29 (9 of 23, 5 of 13 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Antetokounmpo added 27, Beasley 23. The hinge was Q2, 36-29: MIL came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 2. Portis was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
1/17 @ CLE 95-135 — MIL notes
MIL lost 95-135. MIL shot 40% (38 of 95) to CLE's 59%, 12 of 42 from three, and got to the line just 10 times against 18 fouls committed. The glass went 36-55 against them. Lillard led with 17 (7 of 20, 1 of 5 from three); Portis added 16, Crowder 15. Q4 was theirs, 28-27, the deficit cut from 41 to 40, but the other 3 periods went 108-67 against them. Middleton's -40 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/20 @ DET 141-135 — MIL notes
MIL won 141-135. MIL shot 55% (47 of 85) to DET's 47%, 12 of 32 from three, and went to the line 49 times to DET's 32 — 35 points from the stripe to their 26. Lillard led with 45 (12 of 22, 5 of 11 from three, 16 of 16 at the line); Antetokounmpo added 31, Lopez 19. The hinge was Q2, 36-29: MIL came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 3.
1/22 @ DET 122-113 — MIL notes
MIL won 122-113. MIL shot 45% (42 of 94) to DET's 45%, 10 of 39 from three. Antetokounmpo led with 31 (11 of 25, 1 of 5 from three, 8 of 12 at the line); Middleton added 26, Lillard 17. The hinge was Q4, 33-28: a lead of 4 became 9. Beasley was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
1/24 vs CLE 126-116 — MIL notes
MIL won 126-116. MIL shot 50% (45 of 90) to CLE's 51%, 11 of 29 from three, and went to the line 28 times to CLE's 15 — 25 points from the stripe to their 11. Antetokounmpo led with 35 (16 of 24); Lillard added 28, Middleton 24. The hinge was Q2, 29-23: a lead of 4 became 10, and the lead reached 21. Middleton was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
1/26 vs CLE — 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 125 a night and allowing 128, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 31 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 27 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Merrill at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Garland (17 straight), Eva. Mobley (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 101 a night to Milwaukee's 128 and the line, where Milwaukee takes 31 free throws a game to Cleveland's 17. Call it Cleveland 119, Milwaukee 117, Milwaukee keeping it close.
1/27 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 29 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 30 and Lillard at 26 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Williamson at 21 and McCollum at 21 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the arc, New Orleans at 38 percent from three to Milwaukee's 33 and the line, where Milwaukee takes 29 free throws a game to New Orleans's 23. Call it Milwaukee 119, New Orleans 118, New Orleans keeping it close.
1/29 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 30 from three, 22 free throws a game; Jokić at 33 and Murray at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 32 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 30 and Lillard at 28 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 32 free throws a game to Denver's 22 and the defense, Denver allowing 108 a night to Milwaukee's 119. Call it Denver 117, Milwaukee 116, Milwaukee keeping it close.
1/31 @ POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Portland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Simons at 23 and Brogdon at 19 a game. Without Sharpe (10 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 29 and Lillard at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Milwaukee 117, Portland 115, Portland keeping it close.
1/15 vs CHI 109-91 — CLE notes
CLE won 109-91. CLE shot 41% (39 of 95) to CHI's 42%, 20 of 57 from three. CLE turned it over 11 times to CHI's 18. Mitchell led with 34 (11 of 21, 4 of 10 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); LeVert added 16, Merrill 15. The hinge was Q1, 40-21: from level to 19 ahead. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
1/17 vs MIL 135-95 — CLE notes
CLE won 135-95. CLE shot 59% (55 of 93) to MIL's 40%, 12 of 28 from three, and went to the line 19 times to MIL's 10 — 13 points from the stripe to their 7. The glass went 55-36 for them. Niang led with 33 (13 of 14, 5 of 6 from three); Mitchell added 31, Allen 21. The hinge was Q3, 42-26: a lead of 25 became 41, and the lead reached 47. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +40.
1/20 @ ATL 116-95 — CLE notes
CLE won 116-95. CLE shot 51% (43 of 85) to ATL's 40%, 16 of 43 from three. Mitchell led with 18 (6 of 17, 0 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Merrill added 18, Wade 17. The hinge was Q2, 34-25: a lead of 5 became 14, and the lead reached 27. Okoro was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
1/22 @ ORL 126-99 — CLE notes
CLE won 126-99. CLE shot 56% (45 of 80) to ORL's 46%, 20 of 38 from three, and got to the line 22 times to ORL's 30. CLE turned it over 9 times to ORL's 15. Merrill led with 26 (8 of 13, 8 of 13 from three); Mitchell added 25, Allen 14. The hinge was Q1, 38-19: from level to 19 ahead, and the lead reached 36. Mitchell was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
1/24 @ MIL 116-126 — CLE notes
CLE lost 116-126. CLE shot 51% (46 of 91) to MIL's 50%, 13 of 38 from three, and got to the line 15 times to MIL's 28. Mitchell led with 23 (10 of 24, 2 of 11 from three); Allen added 21, Strus 14. Q4 was theirs, 37-33, the deficit cut from 14 to 10, but the other 3 periods went 93-79 against them. Allen's -17 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/26 @ MIL — 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 125 a night and allowing 128, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 31 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 27 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Merrill at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Garland (17 straight), Eva. Mobley (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 101 a night to Milwaukee's 128 and the line, where Milwaukee takes 31 free throws a game to Cleveland's 17. Call it Cleveland 119, Milwaukee 117, Milwaukee keeping it close.
1/29 vs LAC — 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 121 a night and allowing 103, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Allen at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Garland (18 straight), Eva. Mobley (22 straight). 2 days' rest. The Clippers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 110, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; George at 21 and Leonard at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Zubac (6 straight), Tucker (28 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 103 a night to the Clippers' 110. Call it Cleveland 115, the Clippers 113, the Clippers keeping it close.
1/31 vs DET — 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 118 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 25 and Allen at 19 a game. Without Garland (19 straight). One day's rest. Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 118, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Bogdanović at 23 and Burks at 15 a game. Without Wiseman (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 106 a night to Detroit's 118 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-2 a night and Detroit minus-3. Call it Cleveland 119, Detroit 110.
2/01 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 104, shooting 44 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jackson Jr. at 24 and Williams Jr. at 18 a game. Without Bane (9 straight), Kennard (2 straight), LaRavia (8 straight). 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 111, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Allen at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Memphis giving it away 15 times a game to Cleveland's 11 and the defense, Memphis allowing 104 a night to Cleveland's 111. Call it Cleveland 111, Memphis 110, Memphis keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
CP C. Porter Jr.
DJ D. Jones
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
MILBL B. Lopez
BP B. Portis
CP C. Payne
DL D. Lillard
GA G. Antetokounmpo
JC J. Crowder
KM K. Middleton
MB M. Beasley
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
Antetokounmpo gets triple-double as Bucks beat Cavs 126-116 in 1st game since Griffin was fired
MILWAUKEE -- — Giannis Antetokounmpo made sure the Milwaukee Bucks delivered a win the night after their coach was fired.
Antetokounmpo recorded his third triple-double in his last four games and the Milwaukee Bucks defeated Cleveland 126-116 on Wednesday night to snap the Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak. The victory capped an emotional couple of days following the dismissal of Adrian Griffin on Tuesday.
The two-time MVP scored 35 points, matched a season high with 18 rebounds and had 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season. Antetokounmpo is one assist shy of having four straight triple-doubles after having 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists Saturday in a 141-135 triumph at Detroit.
“For a coach like Griff, from Day 1, everything was about togetherness,” Antetokounmpo said. “He was always leading this group into the direction we set at the beginning of the year. Him not being here, at the end of the day, we’re humans. It hurts everybody.
"But we’ve got to keep on moving forward. We have a goal in our head, which is to be the best basketball team that we can be.”
Griffin was fired despite going 30-13 in his lone season as coach. Joe Prunty, an assistant on Griffin’s staff, coached the Bucks on Wednesday while team officials were finalizing negotiations with Doc Rivers to eventually take over, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.
“I think our experience really worked in our favor in this situation,” said Damian Lillard , who scored 28 points for the Bucks. “We've all experienced a lot of things. I think this was different for everybody, but I think we just understood we had a game tonight, and it was going to be a tough game against a really good team that kind of handled us the last time we played them.”
Prunty has plenty of experience in this role.
He went 21-16 with Milwaukee in 2017-18 and also coached the Bucks during their first-round, seven-game playoff loss to the Boston Celtics after the midseason firing of Jason Kidd . Prunty was 2-0 with Atlanta last season after the Hawks fired Nate McMillan and before they hired Quin Snyder .
“It’s not easy, but you do have a job to do,” Prunty said. “That’s one of the things that we talked about as a team, just talked about, ‘Look, we still have responsibilities. We still have roles. We still have jobs that we have to do on the court.’ So you just do. You move forward. But it’s not easy. It really isn’t.”
Milwaukee has the Eastern Conference’s second-best record, but the Bucks weren’t playing defense nearly as well for Griffin as they had under predecessor Mike Budenholzer .
The Bucks’ last loss in Griffin’s 43-game tenure was a 135-95 blowout – their most lopsided defeat of the season – at Cleveland a week ago while Antetokounmpo was out with a bruised right shoulder.
Milwaukee looked much better Wednesday while cooling the NBA’s hottest team.
Cleveland had trailed for just 35 seconds over its last five games and had three straight wire-to-wire victories, but the Cavaliers never led in this one.
“They are a prideful team,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of the Bucks. “There's champions over there in that locker room. So we did expect their intensity to be lifted today. Give them credit. They played well.”
Khris Middleton added 24 points for the Bucks.
Donovan Mitchell had 23 points and Jarrett Allen added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavs. Georges Niang and Max Strus scored 14 points each, Sam Merrill 12 and Isaac Okoro 10.
The Cavaliers trailed by as many as 21 in the third quarter and were still behind 103-87 with nine minutes left before cutting the margin to six with 3:44 remaining. Antetokounmpo answered with a dunk to start a 6-1 run that gave the Bucks more breathing room.
Cleveland was playing for the first time since backup center Tristan Thompson received a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy by testing positive for ibutamoren and SARM LGD-4033.
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers and Bucks meet again Friday in Milwaukee.