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When healthy, the Cavaliers have established themselves as true contenders in the East. If Evan Mobley continues to crank it up on the offensive end, they’re going to be a&nbsp;major&nbsp;problem for everyone moving forward.&nbsp;

Bouncing back from a listless performance the previous evening, the Wine & Gold got their act together in the second half of the back-to-back – pulling past the Bucks, 114-102, behind a massive effort from Mobley on Saturday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. 

The Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton and the Cavs, without Donovan Mitchel for the third straight game. Jrue Holiday continued to pick up the slack for his missing mates; Mobley did the offensive heavy lifting for Cleveland.&nbsp;

The soft-spoken sophomore from USC was aggressive from the opening tip – setting career marks for both field goal attempts (27) and makes (19) en route to his career-high 38-point performance, leading Cleveland with nine boards to go with three assists. And he was especially good late – netting 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the final period as the Cavs pulled away for the season split with Milwaukee.&nbsp;

With those numbers, Mobley became just the fourth Cavalier 21-years-old or younger to notch at least 38 points, as well as the fourth player in the three-point era to net 38 points-plus without hitting a single three-pointer or free throw.&nbsp;

The Cavaliers led most of the way on Saturday, including the entire third quarter, before the Bucks took a brief lead to start the fourth. But Mobley took over down the stretch and Cleveland cruised to the win over the final half of the period.&nbsp;

Darius Garland was outstanding again, following up with 21 points and a team-best 10 assists – his fourth straight game with double-digit dimes – going 9-for-16 from the floor, adding three boards and a pair of steals while committing just a single turnover in 35 minutes of work.&nbsp;

Caris LeVert getting his third straight start in place of Donovan Mitchell, chipped in with 13 points, seven assists and a steal. Cedi Osman notched 13 points of his own, going 4-of-7 from the floor in 22 minutes off the bench.&nbsp;

Jarrett Allen rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures, finishing with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, adding six boards, a pair of steals and a blocked shot in the win.&nbsp;

Jrue Holiday led Milwaukee wit 28 points and 10 assists, going 12-for-27 from the floor. Bobby Portis doubled-up wit 23 points and a game-high 11 boards in the loss.

FEAT. HIGHLIGHT: Evan Mobley with 14 Points in the 2nd Quarter

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Garland Dishes to Mobley for 2

There was a moment of nervousness at the start of the fourth quarter on Saturday.&nbsp;

One night after falling to the shorthanded Warriors, the banged-up Bucks suddenly had rallied back from 12 points down to take a late lead – erasing Cleveland’s five-point edge heading into the final 12 minutes.

But after Joe Ingles three-pointer with 10:24 to play in regulation gave Milwaukee a 90-88 lead, and his next triple tied the score at 95-apiece, the Wine and Gold – sand specifically Evan Mobley – took over from there. Mobley would proceed to score the next three field goals, followed by buckets by Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, wrapping up a 10-0 run and putting Cleveland squarely in the driver’s seat for the duration.

26.5, 11.3 …&nbsp;Points and assists that Darius Garland is averaging over his last four games – topping the 30-point mark twice and doubling-up in all four, while shooting 44 percent (35-of-80) from the floor, 40 percent (14-of-35) from three-point range and 96 percent (22-of-23) from the stripe – committing just nine combined turnovers over that stretch.

Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, on Evan Mobley’s performance in Saturday night’s win …

“It’s difficult sometimes for big guys to get their just due. It’s difficult for big guys who are unselfish by nature to get their just due. But Evan is a heck of basketball player, and he plays the game the right way. He doesn’t force things because people say he should do more or score more. He’s a basketball purist, in that sense. So, if you run bodies at him and his teammates are open, he’s going to pass it to them 100 times in a row. That’s just who he is. But tonight, that’s how they decided to play him and he was aggressive and still went out and finished.”

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 98.1.

After splitting the weekend back-to-back at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Wine & Gold get right back on the road this week – traveling to New York for a Tuesday night matchup with the R.J. Barrett and the Knicks. From there, it’s a Thursday night showdown with the Rockets in Houston before wrapping up the three-game junket on Friday night in Oklahoma City. 

The Cavaliers return home to close out the month of January – welcoming the Clippers to town next Sunday followed by a Tuesday night meeting with the Heat.

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Cavs Finish Back To Back With Win Over Milwaukee

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Darius Garland dishes the ball inside to Evan Mobley for 2 in the 4th against the Bucks

Jarrett Allen slams it home in the 3rd quarter against the Bucks.

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Jarrett Slams it Home

Evan Mobley #4 catches fire in the 2nd quarter, scoring 14 points against the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Mobley Scores 14 in the 2nd

Cedi Osman drops 6 points in the first 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Cedi with a Quick 6 Points in the 2nd

Caris LeVert #3 drops it for 3 at the buzzer in the first quarter against the Bucks.

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Caris Beats the Shot Clock

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Cavs vs Bucks Through the Lens

Down 21 points with just under two minutes to play in the first half, their team struggling and without two of its starters, Cavalier fans had no idea of the history they were about to witness in the second stanza.&nbsp;

Donovan Mitchell provided that historic performance – posting an offensive effort for the ages, and the greatest in Cavaliers franchise history, erupting for 71 points – going off for 24 points in the third quarter, 18 in the fourth and 13 more in the overtime session, where Cleveland improved to 6-0 on the season after stunning the Bulls, 145-134, on Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.&nbsp;

Mitchell, who’d failed to reach the 20-point mark in three of his past four games, was solid in the first half – leading Cleveland with 16 points at the break. Despite the three-time All-Star finding his rhythm, the Cavs were still down 18 points at intermission.&nbsp;

Things began to turn around in the third quarter, however. Mitchell and Cedi Osman caught fire and the Cavs would proceed to shoot 57 percent and score 44 points in the period.&nbsp;

In the fourth, the Cavaliers continued to chip away – climbing all the way back to tie the affair at 123-apiece with just over a minute to play on Kevin Love’s made free throw. Both teams went back and forth from there – but Cleveland found itself down three, 130-127, with just 7.4 to play.&nbsp;

The Bulls intentionally fouled Mitchell with 4.4 remaining to prevent him from attempting a game-tying triple – and he drilled the first free throw. Then, in a night of jaw-dropping plays, Mitchell might have made the best one of the evening – missing the second free throw and working his way around Robin Lopez, grabbing his own rebound and putting back the shot to tie the affair and sent it to overtime.&nbsp;

In the extra-session, it was all Mitchell – drilling all four shots he attempted in OT, including the three-pointer to open the scoring and another bomb with 1:49 to play that effectively sealed the deal as the Wine and Gold improved to 3-0 this season against Chicago.&nbsp;

On the night, Mitchell – whose previous high was 57 points notched against Denver in the Playoff Bubble back in 2020 – went 22-for-34 from the floor, including 7-of-15 from long-range and 20-for-25 from the stripe.&nbsp;

For good measure, the 6th-year man from Louisville led both teams with 11 assists, adding eight rebounds and a blocked shot to his epic performance. In doing so, he became the only player in NBA history to top the 70-point plateau and hand out at least 10 assists in a game.

But Mitchell wasn’t Monday’s only hero for the shorthanded Cavaliers – playing their second straight game without starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.&nbsp;

Jarrett Allen was outstanding in the middle – finishing 9-of-10 from the floor for 21 points and eight boards -- while Kevin Love, pressed into the starting rotation once again, led all rebounders, grabbing 17 boards to go with 12 points in the win.&nbsp;

Cedi Osman led all reserves with 19 points, going 6-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-11 from long-range and 3-of-4 from the line.&nbsp;

Mitchell’s monster performance also overshadowed a big night from Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan, who led Chicago with 44 points. Zach LaVine added 26 for the Bulls while Nikola Vucevic doubled-up with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

It took the Wine and Gold over two-and-a-half quarters to find some fire on Monday. But once they warmed up, there was no cooling them off.&nbsp;

Trailing by 15 points – 85-70 – with four minutes to play in the third quarter, Cedi Osman drilled a 30-footer that seemed to ignite the squad. Donovan Mitchell scored on an and-1 on Cleveland’s next possession and suddenly the Cavaliers were back to within single-figures.&nbsp;

Cedi’s three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining in the period got Cleveland to within a deuce, and although the Cavs continued to trail through much of the fourth quarter, the table was set for their thrilling comeback late in the third.

3 …&nbsp;Players in NBA history who have scored more points than Donovan Mitchell in a single game – Wilt Chamberlain (100, 78, 73 [2x] and 72 points), Kobe Bryant (81) and David Thompson (73).&nbsp;

The last player to score at least 70 points in a regular season game was Devin Booker against Boston in 2017 – and that was in a 10-point loss. LeBron James (2017) and Kyrie Irving (2015) had held the previous franchise single-game high-water mark with 57 points each.&nbsp;

Mitchell’s 71 points are an NBA best this season and ties him with Elgin Baylor (1960) and David Robinson (1994) for 6th&nbsp;on the all-time list.

Donovan Mitchell, on being in the same company with names like Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor after his 71-point outburst on Monday...

“I did it in an effort where we came back and won and it’s&nbsp;how&nbsp;we won. For me, that’s what’s nuts, to be honest. I’m extremely blessed and I’m humbled that I’m in that company. I’ve always believed I could be one of the best players in this league, but I’ve got to keep working. This was a big milestone, but at the end of the day, those guys won at the highest level – and that’s my ultimate goal – but to be there in the record books with them is truly incredible.”

After tipping off the calendar year with Monday night’s OT thriller over the Bulls at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Wine and Gold play just one more home contest before embarking on a five-game roadie – welcoming Chris Paul and the Suns to town on Wednesday.&nbsp;

On Friday night, the Cavaliers begin the roadie with a battle against the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, and the Nuggets in Denver and will play every other day from there – traveling to face the Suns on Sunday, the Jazz next Tuesday and the Blazers on Thursday before wrapping up the sojourn on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

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Mitchell hits record 71, Cavs take Bulls in OT

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