CLEVELAND -- Kevin Love returned to the lineup with 24 points and 10 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-104 Wednesday night. LeBron James had 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds and Kyrie Irving had 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on his 24th birthday for the Cavaliers, who have won four of their last five.

Tristan Thompson grabbed three offensive rebounds on one possession late in the fourth quarter, corralling rebounds after a missed dunk by James and a pair of missed 3-pointers. Thompson finally tapped it in himself after the third rebound, giving the Cavaliers a 106-98 lead with 2:43 left. J.R. Smith's 3-pointer with 20 seconds left extended the lead to 111-102, sealing the victory.

Giannis Antetokiunmpo had 24 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Bucks and Greg Monroe had 14 points. Khris Middleton had 11 assists, but the Bucks have lost three straight and four of their last five.

Love missed one game with a head and chest cold that bothered him for about a week and broke out of a shooting funk that has plagued him since the All-Star break. Love began the night shooting 39 percent, including 25 percent from the 3-point line. He shot 8 of 14 Wednesday, although all six of his misses were 3-pointers. He ended the night 4 of 10 from 3-point range.

"It's a mentality. More than anything, confidence plays a huge part in this league," Love said of his recent struggles. "Just continue to breed that with the work that I put in and put myself in good spots on the floor because I've had the shots, just some of them haven't been falling."

The Cavaliers have simplified their defense in recent days, but the Bucks cut right through it to shoot 54 percent. They scored 87 points entering the fourth, but went scoreless for nearly the first four minutes as the Cavaliers turned a four-point lead into a 10-point lead in the fourth before the Bucks could score.

NOTES: Bucks coach Jason Kidd was a teammate of Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue briefly in Dallas. "He's going to do a great job," Kidd said. "He was a competitor on the floor. You look at his size, he competed. When you look at what he walked into, I think he's going to come out very well." ... Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo entered with 19 triple-doubles this season after totaling 12 in his first two NBA seasons. ... Cavaliers F Kevin Love returned to the lineup after missing a game with a head/chest cold. Love entered the night shooting 25 percent from 3-point range since the All-Star break. ... Cavaliers F LeBron James on Northern Iowa's stunning collapse against Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament: "I would quit basketball. ... You up eight with 20-plus seconds, you up five with 10 seconds? I would quit."