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Wrap-Up -- After watching LeBron James post one jaw-dropping play after another for as many years as most Cavalier fans have, the question becomes: What will he do next?
On Tuesday night, the four-time MVP came up with another emphatic answer – drilling a 33-foot bomb with 24 seconds to play in overtime, putting the shorthanded Cavaliers ahead to stay in a 114-108 thriller in Milwaukee.
Playing without Kevin Love – who remained back in Cleveland to nurse a sore left knee – and J.R. Smith – who injured his right thumb in the first half – the Cavaliers needed everything they got from James and Kyrie Irving, who finished with 62 of the Wine and Gold’s 114 points.
Facing Milwaukee for the first time since suffering a 17-point blowout in late November, the Cavaliers and Bucks went toe-to-toe for four quarters and needed an extra-session to settle the contest.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter and held a seven-point edge with 2:33 to play in regulation. But Milwaukee clawed back late to tie the affair at 100-apiece on Jabari Parker’s layup with 15 seconds to play.
But James took over in the extra-session, and after the Bucks’ Tony Snell scored on a layup with 1:12 to play, the four-time MVP calmly launched a long three-pointer that splashed home and put Cleveland up a deuce – 110-108.
Kyrie and LeBron would go on to hit all four free throws the rest of the way to give the Cavaliers their 20th win and avenge a painful loss from earlier this season.
James led both squads with 34 points – going 12-for-25 from the floor, including 5-for-9 from long-distance. He grabbed a team-high-tying 12 rebounds and led both teams with seven assists, adding a steal and an emphatic fourth-quarter block on Jabari Parker.
Kyrie followed up with 28 points of his own – going 8-for-23 from the floor and a perfect 9-for-9 from the stripe, adding five assists and five boards in the win.
With Love back in Cleveland and Smith on the shelf after intermission, Channing Frye gave Cleveland an excellent lift off the bench – netting 11 of his 15 points in the second stanza, going 3-for-7 from beyond the arc, 5-for-11 overall.
The Bucks – who scored 64 points in the paint against the Cavs in their last meeting and finished with 54 more on Tuesday – were led by their two young stars. Jabari Parker led Milwaukee with 30 points on 13-for-25 shooting while Giannis Antetokuonmpo added 25 points, a game-high 13 boards, two steals and three blocked shots before fouling out late in the overtime session.
LeBron and Kyrie come up clutch as the Wine and Gold improve to 20-6.
Overall, the Cavaliers canned 17 three-pointers to just seven for the Bucks – outscoring them by 30 points from long-range to offset Milwaukee’s relentless attack around the rim.
Turning Point -- Tuesday night featured plenty of back-and-forth action, although it looked like Cleveland might run away early after extending its lead to 18 – 47-29 – early in the second period.
The Bucks patiently carved into the Cavaliers lead and eventually tied the affair on the Greek Freak’s two free throws early in the third period. Milwaukee would build its lead to four midway through the quarter, but found themselves trailing at the end of it.
After the Bucks used a late run to send the game into overtime, LeBron took over early in the bonus period – going 2-for-2 from the floor (including his game-clinching triple) while snagging five rebounds, two more than the Bucks as a team, to guarantee the win.
By the Numbers – 1 … free throws that Kyrie Irving has missed in overtime over the course of his career, knocking down 39 of the 40 he’s attempted – including both on Tuesday in Milwaukee.
Quotable – Channing Frye, on his pass to LeBron, leading to the big overtime trey …
”You know what I was really thinking? I need that assist. It was beautiful. You know, we practice that, but any time anybody takes a shot I swear there’s no question in my mind that it’s going in. I’m really just going in to rebound for the film.”
Up Next -- After Tuesday night’s overtime thriller in Milwaukee, the Cavaliers return to The Q for the second half of the home-and-home back-to-back, taking on the Bucks not long after presenting their starting point guard, Matthew Dellavedova, with his NBA Championship ring. The Wine and Gold welcome the Brooklyn Nets to town on Friday night before in the final tune-up before the eagerly-anticipated Christmas Day matchup with the Warriors. The Cavs travel to Detroit the following day, take on the Celtics at The Q on Thursday and wrap up the year 2016 two nights later in Charlotte.