Stepping up when needed
Middleton, Portis carry load with Giannis out
The top scoring offense in the NBA squared up with the No. 1 defense as the Milwaukee Bucks hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night at Fiserv Forum, but the game was a bit of a shell of what it could have been in that the Bucks were without forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Cavaliers were without seven players, including leading scorer Collin Sexton.
Despite having their best player sidelined, the Bucks outlasted the Cavaliers in a sluggish game to win 100-90. Milwaukee closed its five-game homestand with a 4-1 mark and improved to 6-4 on the season.
Antetokounmpo injured his back Friday night following a hard fall against Utah, and though he finished the game, he didn't look comfortable. Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that the soreness and stiffness caused by the fall was enough to render the twotime Most Valuable Player inactive.
Antetokounmpo also missed time in the preseason with back tightness.
“We are hopeful that it's a short-term thing,” Budenholzer said before the game. “He has been managing, I think probably every season, some back, just kind of awareness and things like that.
"We'll see how he feels. Another 24-48 hours can make a big difference. He's a quick healer and everything. When appropriate, we'll always err on the side of caution in keeping him healthy and thinking about the long term with him.” The Bucks play in Orlando on Monday. Bobby Portis started for Antetokounmpo against the Cavaliers (5-5) and scored 12 points in the first eight minutes of the game – including 10 straight at one point – as the Bucks built a 19-10 lead early. With
the game being the second of a back-toback, Budenholzer then leaned on the rest of the bench which responded and built a 19-point lead early in the second quarter at 35-16.
Unfortunately, the bench couldn’t keep the offense rolling as the quarter wore on.
The Cavaliers, who looked disjointed early with five guards out injured, leaned on center Andre Drummond and slowly worked that deficit to nothing, tying the game 37-37. They went on a 16-0 run that was spread across just over four minutes.
Drummond scored 11 points in that stretch and finished the first half with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bucks starters came back into the game with about five minutes left in the half to stem the tide, and Khris Middleton scored eight straight points before Jrue Holiday added a bucket to once again give the Bucks a cushion at 47-37 at the break.
Cleveland mixed its defensive looks and the pace was slowed, allowing the Cavaliers to hang around most of the third quarter before Middleton caught fire again in the back half of the period. After the Cavaliers drew within two possessions at 58-52, Middleton scored eight points and assisted on a Donte DiVincenzo three-pointer to key a 17-6 stretch that once again gave the Bucks some breathing room with a 75-58 advantage.
But such air space was continually stifled by the Cavaliers, who just harangued the Bucks on the offensive end and cut the lead to eight in the fourth quarter on several occasions. When Damyean Dotson hit a three to pull the Cavaliers to 81-73, Middleton and Holiday combined to score and assist on 10 points to once again pull the Bucks to a 92-79 lead with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left.
Normally, that would seem like enough time to make up a 13-point deficit but in a game that had just eight combined fast break points and 34 turnovers between the teams, the Cavaliers just couldn’t create enough offense down the stretch.
Middleton led the Bucks with 27 points while Portis finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Holiday (15), DiVincenzo (11) and D.J. Wilson (12) finished in double figures as well. Drummond led the Cavaliers with 26 points and 24 rebounds while Dotson added 21.