Cleveland Cavaliers @ Milwaukee Bucks
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI | Game ID: 22500995
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIL 24 34 29 29 116CLE 37 20 28 38 123
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Evan Mobley and James Harden lead the way as Cavaliers beat short-handed Bucks 123-116
MILWAUKEE -- — Evan Mobley had 27 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, and James Harden also scored 27 as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened a three-game trip by beating the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 123-116 on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out with a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise. This was the career-high 32nd game the two-time MVP has missed this season, and the Bucks fell to 11-21 without him.
The Bucks also didn't have Myles Turner because of a right calf strain. Cleveland's Jarrett Allen missed a sixth straight game because of tendinitis in his right knee.
In a game featuring 11 ties and 16 lead changes, Cleveland pulled ahead for good 103-100 on Sam Merrill 's 3-pointer with 6:55 remaining, which started an 8-0 run.
Milwaukee cut the lead to 110-106 on an Ousmane Dieng 's 3-pointer with 3:39 left, but Cleveland responded with seven straight points. The Cavs stayed in front by at least five the rest of the way.
Milwaukee's Kevin Porter Jr . had 25 points and 10 assists. Dieng, Bobby Portis and Ryan Rollins added 19 points each.
Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points. Merrill added 17 points in his return from a two-game absence due to left hamstring tightness.
Milwaukee’s Taurean Prince played 22 minutes and scored eight points in his first start of the season. Prince, who has played just 10 games this season, returned earlier this month after undergoing surgery in November to repair a herniated disk in his neck.
The Bucks shot 20 of 45 from 3-point range, and their bench outscored Cleveland's 57-24. The Cavs compensated with a commanding edge from the foul line, going 27 of 34 while the Bucks were 12 of 17.
MIL KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MILAG A. Green
BP B. Portis
JS J. Sims
KK K. Kuzma
KP K. Porter Jr.
OD O. Dieng
PN P. Nance
RR R. Rollins
TP T. Prince
CLEDM D. Mitchell
DS D. Schröder
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JH J. Harden
JT J. Tyson
KE K. Ellis
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
TB T. Bryant
MIL/CLE 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
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