Giannis Antetokounmpo capped a 33-point performance with four key hoops down the stretch Friday night as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks held off the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-110.
En route to a 10th straight win, Milwaukee led by as many as 22 in the first half and retained a 13-point advantage at 102-89 after an Antetokounmpo 3-pointer in the first minute of the final period.
But the Cavaliers, seeking to win for just the second time in 10 games, chipped away, eventually getting as close as 105-102 on a Larry Nance Jr. 3-pointer with still 5:41 to play.
But Antetokounmpo responded with a dunk to push the lead back up to five, and three other times countered a Cavaliers basket with one of his own, never allowing the home team closer than three.
Cleveland got within three one last time at 113-110 with 2:20 to go, but this time Khris Middleton got the rally-stopping hoop, creating a five-point margin again with 2:07 to go.
The Bucks held off the Cavaliers from there, with the help of three offensive rebounds and two free throws each by George Hill and Donte DiVincenzo.
Antetokounmpo completed a double-double with a team-high 12 rebounds for the Bucks, who beat the Cavaliers for the second time this season.
George Hill chipped in with 18 points, while Middleton had 12, DiVincenzo 11, and Eric Bledsoe and Ersan Ilyasova 10 apiece.
The Bucks outshot the Cavaliers 51.1 percent to 50.0.
Rookie Darius Garland went for 21 points, his second-most of the season, to pace the Cavaliers, who lost their third straight. Fifteen of his points came on 5-for-7 shooting on 3-pointers, helping Cleveland outscore Milwaukee 51-36 from beyond the arc.
Cedi Osman had 20 points, Nance 18, Kevin Love and Collin Sexton 16 apiece, and Tristan Thompson 11 in a balanced Cleveland attack.
Thompson collected a game-high 13 rebounds to complete a double-double, while Love complemented his 16 points with eight rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
--Field Level Media
Milwaukee | Cleveland | |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 33 | Scoring | Darius Garland 21 |
Eric Bledsoe 5 | Assists | Kevin Love 7 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 12 | Rebounds | Tristan Thompson 13 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 3 | Free Throws Made | Jordan Clarkson 1 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 2 | Steals | Collin Sexton 3 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 2 | Blocks | Larry Nance Jr. 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Milwaukee | 119 | 51.1 | 12-34 | 17-23 | 28 | 47 | 4 | 7 | 13 |
Cleveland | 110 | 50.0 | 17-34 | 5-10 | 32 | 41 | 1 | 7 | 15 |