Bucks 118, Cavs 101: Giannis leads rout

Giannis Antetokounmpo said the Milwaukee Bucks were close to knocking down the door.

On Tuesday night they smashed it down with an emphatic 118-101 rout of the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Antetokounmpo did his part with a career-high tying 34 points while adding 12 rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks before an appreciative crowd of 16,559. The only other player under age 22 to have a 30-10-5-5 in a game in the last 30 seasons: the man defending Antetokounmpo for much of the night, LeBron James.

Milwaukee (8-8) had come close in home losses to NBA elites Golden State and Toronto, but this time the Bucks dominated the Cavaliers after trailing by 14 points in the first quarter.

BOX SCORE: Bucks 118, Cavs 101

"Because we're a young team we have to learn how to open the door and get in," a smiling Antetokounmpo said. "We've got to do it. In this game ,we did what we had to do to get the win.

D'Amato: For Bucks, one to build on

"We moved the ball. Our pace was great. We rebounded the ball real well. As a team, we didn't let them off the hook. We were attacking. The Cavs are a great team, the champs. But it feels good."

Jabari Parker added 18 points and Michael Beasley 17 for the Bucks, and Greg Monroe had 14 points and six rebounds in a key bench role. The Bucks scored a season-high 68 points in the paint.

Cavaliers miss Dellavedova's contributions

"I thought they were physical from 1 through 5," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "We gave up 68 points in the paint. We didn't get back in transition. Milwaukee scored 118 points with only 7 threes."

Milwaukee trailed by two points at the end of the first quarter and led, 58-54, at halftime. The Bucks finished the third quarter on a 27-9 run to take control.

J.R. Smith stopped playing to hug Jason Terry

James was frustrated much of the night but led the Cavaliers (13-3) with 22 points. Kyrie Irving had 20 points and Kevin Love added 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Matthew Dellavedova, facing his former Cavaliers teammates for the first time, had seven assists and three points in 25 minutes.

"They just broke us down at the point of attack," James said. "Delly's pick-and-rolls in the third quarter allowed him to get downhill and he was just picking us apart."

James guarded Antetokounmpo in the second half and was unhappy when he was called for a foul with the Greek Freak backing him down.

"LeBron is the best player, a top-five player of all-time," Antetokounmpo said. "Just to be on the court with him and going against him feels good.

"From where I started, my coaches say I was playing launch ball when I was 17."

The Bucks shot 53.5% from the field (46 of 86) while limiting Cleveland to 42.7% shooting. The Cavaliers were 14 of 39 from three-point range.

"They shot 39 threes and we tried to contest as much as we could," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "They're very talented at doing that and putting you in a tough situation. But the guys to start the (second) half, I thought they came out with the intent of sharing the ball on the offensive end, and on the defensive end they were all on the same page."

The Cavaliers went nearly 6 minutes without a field goal in the third quarter, after a three-pointer by James tied the score at 65-65 with 8 minutes left.

Antetokounmpo started Milwaukee's surge with a three-pointer, starting a personal 9-0 run that gave the Bucks a 74-65 lead. He hit two free throws after being fouled by James, dunked off a pass from Dellavedova and scored on a putback.

Lue substituted all five starters with 3:49 left after the Bucks had taken a 78-67 lead. Milwaukee outscored the Cavaliers in the quarter, 34-20, to grab a 92-74 lead.

Lue stuck with his subs – Mike Dunleavy, Chris Andersen, James Jones, DeAndre Liggins and Jordan McRae – to open the fourth quarter.

But one minute into the quarter, the Cavaliers starters re-entered the game.

Malcolm Brogdon silenced any ideas of a quick Cleveland comeback when he swished a pair of three-pointers to give the Bucks a 98-79 lead. A triple by Jason Terry a few moments later made it 101-81 with 8:56 remaining.

Lue went back to his reserves for good with 6:03 left after Brogdon's layup gave the Bucks a 106-84 lead, their largest of the game.

Antetokounmpo tied his career high for points, set last season against the Chicago Bulls.

Kidd refused to call it a breakout performance.

"I think it's a matter of us trusting one another and playing as a team," Kidd said. "For a young team, sometimes that takes time. We want to put it in the microwave, but if you're patient enough with the process, it will come.

"I think it's great for a coach because they've just raised the bar. They've shown they can do it for 48 minutes. For that locker room, those guys hold each other accountable. They talked about it after the game, that we still have a long ways to go.

"We played the champs. We see them twice on a back-to-back in a few weeks (in December). This is a good win for us and now can we build on it."

THREE TAKEAWAYS

No. 1 – Beasley again sparked the Bucks off the bench in the first half, scoring 11 points and compiling a plus-11 rating while also taking a turn defending against James. Beasley hit 7 of 10 shots and was a plus-23 for the game.

No. 2 – James committed five turnovers in the second quarter and six in the first half. He finished with seven turnovers and a minus-12 rating.

No. 3 – Greg Monroe continued his solid work as the Bucks' second center, passing well and contributing in both halves. "He was making plays for us offensively, setting great screens and getting guys open," Kidd said. "Defensively he gave not just the first effort but the second and third effort. That's what we need from Moose and everybody. I thought this was by far Moose's best game for us." John Henson was active as the starter again and finished with nine rebounds in 20 minutes.

UP NEXT

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (8-8) vs. Brooklyn Nets (5-12).

When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Where: Barclays Center.

About the Nets: Brooklyn snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 127-122 victory in double overtime over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday at the Barclays Center. Sean Kilpatrick, a former Bucks summer league standout, scored a career-high 38 points. Jeremy Lin has missed the last 12 games with a strained left hamstring and rookie Isaiah Whitehead is starting at point guard. Lin’s return does not appear imminent as he posted a video on Facebook this week and used the hashtag #inGodstiming. The Nets are 2-7 against Eastern Conference foes, including a 110-108 loss to the Bucks on Oct. 29 in Milwaukee.