Eric Bledsoe had 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 108-92 win on Monday over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.

Malcolm Brogdon added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bucks. Khris Middleton chipped in with 16 as the Bucks connected on 15 of 36 3-point attempts.

The Bucks were playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a sore neck. Antetokounmpo missed one other game this season, a Bucks' victory over Toronto on Oct. 29.

Ersan Ilyasova got the start for Antetokounmpo and totaled nine points and seven rebounds.

Larry Nance Jr. led the Cavs with 16 points and rookie Collin Sexton added 15. Tristan Thompson, who had 16 double-doubles coming into the game, finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

After trailing by 22 in the fourth quarter, Cleveland cut the deficit to 98-87 on a jumper by Sexton with under three minutes left.

Ilyasova answered with two free throws and Middleton added a short jumper to give the Bucks some breathing room.

Milwaukee took control early, surging to a 15-6 lead on the strength of five straight points from Bledsoe and a 27-foot 3-pointer from Middleton.

Sterling Brown scored eight first-quarter points off the bench to spark the Bucks to a 31-18 lead after the first period.

The Cavs scored the first seven of the second period, cutting the Milwaukee lead to 31-25. George Hill, traded last week from Cleveland to Milwaukee, finally got the Bucks on the board in the second with a layup, which ignited a 10-2 spurt to put the Bucks up 41-27.

Bledsoe hit two threes, Lopez connected on another and the lead was 50-30 with 5:20 remaining in the half.

Milwaukee is now 4-0 on the second game of back-to-backs this season. The Bucks were coming off an impressive road win on Sunday over the Toronto Raptors, the team with the best record in the NBA.

The two teams play again on Friday night in Cleveland.

--Field Level Media