*** The Wine & Gold wrapped up their roadie in style – and two nights after seeing their eight-game win streak snapped, turned in a suffocating second half effort on the defensive end, holding the Bucks to 43 points after intermission and pulling away for the 112-100 win on Friday night in Milwaukee. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers and Jarrett Allen notched his 14thstraight double-double as Cleveland split the season series with the Bucks while closing out its recent roadie winning three of four.
*** After a tight first half, the Bucks led by six early in the third quarter, but the tables turned from there – with the Cavaliers going off on a 17-2 run that saw them take a nine-point edge late in the period. A Milwaukee run in the quarter’s closing moments cut Cleveland’s advantage to just three, but the Wine & Gold opened the fourth with a 21-4 barrage that gave them all the room they’d need down the stretch.
J.B. Bickerstaff | Cavs at Bucks Post Game | 1.26.2024
*** Coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised his team’s defensive intensity in the win. “I mean it was impressive, the physicality, but what I'm most proud of is how they did it together. You don't stop a Giannis or a Lillard by yourself and you're in a one-on-one situation. They bought into whoever was guarding him – ‘I'm going to protect this guy.’ And that's what we're all about. Cleveland Cavaliers basketball is about being together, being selfless and trusting one another. And we saw great signs of that tonight.”
*** Donovan Mitchell was outstanding on both ends of the floor in Friday’s win – leading both teams with 32 points on 12-for-27 shooting, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc, adding eight boards, six assists, a steal and a blocked shot. He also limited Milwaukee’s Malik Beasley – the Eastern Conference’s top three-point shooter (.471) to a single field goal attempt on the night, and it came with 1:48 to play in the ballgame.
*** Jarrett Allen set the franchise mark for consecutive double-doubles earlier on the road trip, but he didn’t stop there – running that mark to 14 straight games with an excellent two-way effort again on Friday night, notching 24 points and a game-high 14 boards – eight of those off the offensive glass – adding a steal and a pair of blocks in the win.
*** Allen clearly ratcheted up his aggressiveness after halftime and led both teams with a plus-20 in the second stanza. “I definitely shouldn't have been as passive as I was,” said Allen. “I definitely picked it up in the second half just trying to be more aggressive, driving to the basket. I didn't make every single shot, but I think just everybody seeing me be more aggressive after the first half was big.”
*** With Friday’s victory, J.B. Bickerstaff got to within one game of 150 wins as head coach of the Cavaliers. The milestone will match four other coaches in franchise history who’ve reached that plateau – joining Lenny Wilkens, Bill Fitch, Mike Brown and Mike Fratello.
*** Isaac Okoro – who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday – finished with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting, but was simply outstanding on the defensive end against Milwaukee. He started out the night on Giannis Antetokounmpo – and the Greek Freak finished the game with just 13 field goal attempts after 24 on Wednesday – and finished the night on Damian Lillard – holding the Eastern Conference All-Star starter to 7-of-24 shooting from the floor. Okoro finished with two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
*** Coach Bickerstaff, on the birthday boy’s signature defensive performance. “He's Isaac, and he's a gem – and if you don't love the game of basketball or study it or pay attention to it, you can easily miss his value. But if you know the game of basketball and you understand what it takes to make a winning team, you know just how valuable he is, especially in this league.”
*** Darius Garland, who stayed back in Cleveland while he recovers from a fractured jaw, also celebrated his 24th birthday on Friday – and thus missed out on the Happy Birthday serenade Okoro got from the Cavaliers rookies earlier that morning at shootaround.
*** A pair of Cavaliers reserves notched double-figure scoring in the victory. Caris LeVert, who returned from a two-game absence with a sore wrist on Wednesday night, finished with 12 points, four boards and five assists on Friday. LeVert was just 1-of-4 from three-point range, but his lone triple was a big one – putting Cleveland up nine, 109-100, with 1:16 remaining to snuff Milwaukee’s late rally attempt. Georges Niang pitched in with 10 points and five boards on 3-of-5 shooting. Cleveland is now 16-2 over the last 18 games that Niang has scored in double-figures.
*** With the victory, the Cavaliers improved to 19-7 over Central Division foes over the last two seasons.
*** After besting the Bucks to wrap up the season series against Milwaukee – as well as the four-game road trip – the Wine & Gold return home for a pair, welcoming Ty Lue’s Clippers on Monday night followed by a visit from the Pistons on Wednesday. The next night, Cleveland gets right back on the road – taking on the Grizzlies on Thursday in Memphis before a date with Wemby and the Spurs on Saturday night in San Antonio.