12-20-16 at Bucks

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Breaking Down The 'W' - December 20, 2016

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#CavsBucks Game Photos - December 20, 2016

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After having their five-game win streak snapped last week in Memphis, the Wine and Gold returned to their winning ways on Saturday night at The Q – holding off a scrappy Lakers squad. The Big Three each scored at least 20 points – the eighth time they’ve done so this season, and are averaging a combined 71.1 points per game so far this season.

They’ll be without one-third of their All-Star trio on Tuesday night when they make their second trip to Milwaukee this season. Both squads will face each other again on Wednesday night in Cleveland as the Cavs play their second home-and-home back-to-back in as many weeks.

The Cavaliers got smacked by 17 points in their previous trip to the BMO Harris Bradley Center this season – surrendering 68 points in the paint in a loss that precipitated a three-game losing streak. Cleveland has won six of its last seven since snapping that skein.

The Bucks – who haven’t played since Friday – are coming off back-to-back wins over Chicago after dropping their previous three.

As he often does, LeBron James comes into tonight’s contest on the cusp of history. On Tuesday night, he’ll pass the late, great Moses Malone (27,409) for 8th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

In Saturday night’s win over L.A., for the second time in his last three outings, LeBron had a huge fourth quarter, netting 16 of his 26 points in the final period – adding seven boards, nine assists, two steals and a pair of blocks. The four-time MVP has notched at least 20 points, five boards and five helpers in 16 games this season, including his last seven.

James will spend time against both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker on Tuesday night. With Giannis having a breakout season, Parker has been almost as good – tallying at least 20 points in five of his last seven games and in six of his previous nine, averaging 21.0 points per during the month of December.

It’s well within reason that, come February, all three members of the Cavaliers’ Big Three will be playing (if not starting) in the All-Star Game.

On Tuesday night, they’ll likely be looking at one of their Eastern Conference teammates in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s having his best season as a pro.

The Greek Freak, who just turned 22 years old earlier this month, is averaging career-highs in points (22.6), rebounds (9.1), assists (6.0) and blocks (1.96) – the only player in the NBA averaging those numbers. Earlier this month, he notched 30+ points in consecutive games for the first time in his career and has done so five times this year. Over his last four games, the Freak is averaging 27.5 points, 10.8 boards, 6.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game – shooting 56 percent from the floor over that span.

In the Bucks’ big win over the World Champs in late November, Giannis led all scorers with 34 points to go with 12 boards, five assists and a game-high five steals.

After getting a seven-day break to rest some tired legs, Kyrie Irving returned with a vengeance on Saturday night – finishing with 21 points on 8-for-17 shooting, adding six boards and trying a career-high with 12 helpers.

It was his team-leading 20th game of at least 20 points this season, something that’s relatively commonplace when he faces Milwaukee – having posted 12 20-point games in his 17 career appearances against the Bucks, including the November 29 contest.

On Tuesday night, he’ll be going against his old teammate and “Australian brother” – Matthew Dellavedova, who’s having a solid first season with the Bucks – averaging 8.0 points and 5.7 assists while starting every game this season in Milwaukee. Delly has scored in double-figures in 10 games this season, notching double-digit helpers on two occasions, including last week’s matchup with Toronto.

In his first meeting against Cleveland this season, Delly only went 1-of-5 from the floor for three points, but still managed to lead both squads with seven assists.

Tuesday night will feature two clubs that get their scoring in opposite ways. No team gets more of its offense from close-range more than the Bucks, who score more than half their hoops around the rim and are tops in the Eastern Conference with 148 dunks. That tendency was made abundantly clear in the previous meeting between these two teams, with Milwaukee punishing Cleveland in the paint.

The Cavaliers can score down low, but they do some of their best work from beyond the arc. So far this season, the Wine and Gold lead the NBA in three-point percentage (.401), while ranking 2nd in threes made per game (13.4) and 3rd in total three-pointers made (334).

The Cavaliers – who canned 15 more triples in Saturday’s win over the Lakers – have four players (Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) ranked among the top 12 three-point marksmen in the Eastern Conference.

And a name that’s not on that list – J.R. Smith – might just be starting to heat up as well. Over his last three outings, Swish is shooting at a .556 clip – going 10-for-18 from long-range – averaging 15.0 points per during that stretch.

Defensively, however, the Bucks are second in the NBA, trailing only Golden State – allowing opponents to shoot just .326 from deep this season.

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KeyBank Five Keys: Cavaliers at Bucks

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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.

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LeBron's Bomb Beats Bucks in Overtime

Kevin Love experienced a left knee contusion (knee to knee collision with Larry Nance Jr.) during the Cavaliers home game on Saturday, December 17th vs. the LA Lakers. He is continuing treatments related to the contusion and will not travel to Milwaukee with the Cavs to play the Bucks tomorrow night in Milwaukee. He is now listed as OUT for the game in Milwaukee and Questionable for the game on Wednesday night, also against the Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

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Cavaliers Status Update: Kevin Love - December 19, 2016

After Saturday’s 119-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cavaliers take on the Bucks for a home-away back-to-back set beginning on Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Tipoff from BMO Harris Bradley Center is at 8:00 p.m. (ET).

The Cavaliers are an Eastern Conference-best 19-6 this season, leading the second place Bucks by six games in the Central Division.

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        From where to catch all the action to Tuesday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.

Get into the conversation with other die-hards.

In Saturday’s win over the Lakers, Cleveland had 119 points on 46-89 (.517) from the field, including 15-33 (.455) from beyond the arc, 30 assists and just 8 turnovers. The last time Cleveland had at least 30 assists and less than 10 turnovers was February 6, 2013 (33 asts/6 TOs, vs. CHA). On the season, the Cavs are 12-0 when scoring at least 110 points, 4-1 when dishing out at least 30 assists and 4-1 when having less than 10 turnovers.

The bulk of the Cavaliers offense has come via the long ball. Cleveland leads the NBA in three-point percentage (.401), while ranking 2nd in threes made per game (13.4), 3rd in total three-pointers made (334), 4th in points per game (110.4) and 7th in field goal percentage (.464).

Cleveland hopes to keep their dominance at the offensive end rolling as they travel to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee has had an up-and-down start to their 2016-17 campaign and come into Tuesday's contest sporting a 13-12 record.

The Wine and Gold will square off against a familiar face in Bucks point guard, Matthew Dellavedova. Dellavedova spent his first three seasons in Cleveland before inking a deal with Milwaukee this offseason.

Delly has made the most of his departure thus far and is handing out a career-high 5.7 assists per game. The Aussie floor general is also averaging career-highs in points (8.0), rebounds (2.5), steals (1.0) and minutes played (28.2) on the season.

Along with Delly, the Bucks rising superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo or "The Greek Freak", is off to a fantastic start this season. Antetokounmpo is averaging 22.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.

Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega

Programming Note: On Tuesday, December 20, FOX Sports Ohio is airing the Cavs – Bucks game (8:00 p.m.) and the Blue Jackets – Kings game (7:00 p.m.). To view TV listings, CLICK HERE.

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.

Status Update: (Cavs) - Kevin Love, (Left Knee Contusion, Out), Mo Williams, (NWT), Chris Andersen, (Right Knee ACL Tear), Out)

Status Update: (Bucks) - Khris Middleton, (Post-Surgery, Left Hamstring Out)

The Cavs have won five of their last seven contests versus the Bucks, which includes a 3-2 mark at BMO Harris Bradley Center.

This is the second of four regular season meetings between the two teams. The Central Division foes will also face each other on Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena and wrap up their 2016-17 series on February 27 in Cleveland.

As mentioned, the Cavs and Bucks go at it again on Wednesday night at The Q. Then, the Cavaliers welcome the surprising Brooklyn Nets to town for their final warm-up before the Golden State Warriors roll in on Christmas Day. GET TICKETS | VIEW FULL SCHEDULE

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#CavsBucks Game Preview - December 20, 2016

On Tuesday, December 20, FOX Sports Ohio is airing the Cavs – Bucks game (8:00 p.m.) and the Blue Jackets – Kings game (7:00 p.m.). Please refer to these programming details, available online HERE.

Cavaliers Live Pregame Show begins at 7:30 p.m. | Tipoff at 8:00 p.m.

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#CavsBucks Programming Note - December 20, 2016

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12‑20‑16 at Bucks