Damian Lillard reacts to his game-winning three-pointer for Bucks
Damian Lillard sinks a three-pointer in overtime to lift the Bucks past Sacramento, 143-142, Sunday night at Fiserv Forum.
The Milwaukee Bucks look to win their fourth consecutive game and second straight over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Milwaukee (28-12), which remains in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, is looking to snap a five-game winning streak by Cleveland (23-15).
Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin pulled his starters about halfway through the third quarter and the Cavaliers took a 108-67 lead into the fourth quarter. Damian Lillard finished with 17 points on 7 of 20 shooting while Khris Middleton was just 1-for-10. Donovan Mitchell had 31 in 26 minutes to lead the Cavaliers.
Cleveland took a 66-41 lead at halftime as the Bucks shot just 32% from the field overall. Georges Niang came off the bench to score 20 on 8 of 8 shooting for the Cavaliers while Donovan Mitchell had 19 on 8 of 14 shooting.
Milwaukee began the game 1-for-10 while Cleveland started 8-for-9 and the Cavaliers jumped out to a 20-2 lead to start the game. The Cavaliers took a 32-22 lead into the second quarter. Damian Lillard scored seven points but he was just 3-for-10. Khris Middleton was 0-for-4. Mitchell scored 14 for the Cavaliers.
Is Giannis playing?
No. The MVP candidate was not on the injury report as late as 4:30 p.m. ET, but as Khris Middleton began warming up — which is also when Giannis Antetokounmpo does — Antetokounmpo was not on the court. On the 5:30 p.m. ET injury report, Antetokounmpo was listed as out with a right shoulder contusion.
Antetokounmpo took part in the team’s morning shootaround at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“He went through shootaround and then prior to the game tonight he just felt that he couldn’t go,” Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said. “So, we’re just being smart. I don’t believe it’s gonna be multiple games. It could just be day-to-day for now.”
The 29-year-old was on the injury report prior to the Bucks’ victory over Sacramento on Sunday with the same injury, but played through it and recorded a triple-double. This marks the end of his 29-game consecutive games streak. It was his longest since playing 31 in a row in the 2020-21 season.
Antetokounmpo is averaging a team-high 31.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game while handing out 5.9 assists. Griffin said it’ll be a collective effort by the Bucks to fill in the 35 minutes and production Antetokounmpo, and Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff had an idea of who will lead that effort.
“It’s more Dame Lillard, more Dame Lillard, more Dame Lillard and how you put your attention there to help kind of slow him down,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s not a disrespect to the other guys. Those guys have won a championship. Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, those guys have contributed to winning a championship and when you have that type of mentality you’re always scary because they believe that they can do great things. Obviously the usage rate for Dame will probably increase so you have to be solid there, but again, you can’t let another guy come in and be an X-factor. You can’t let Lopez have a huge night banging threes from deep or Bobby Portis bringing that energy and that fire that he does. You have to match that or exceed that and not allow him to be that kind of factor.”
The Bucks were not in violation of the league’s new player participation policy with Antetokounmpo’s absence, as fellow all-stars Khris Middleton and Lillard played. The game was was televised nationally on ESPN.
What is the Bucks record without Giannis?
1-0: The Bucks beat the Toronto Raptors 128-112 on Nov. 15.
Jae Crowder returns for Bucks vs. Cavs
The 33-year-old Marquette University alumnus returns to the court for the first time since Nov. 11, when a torn left adductor forced him out of a loss in Orlando and required surgery on Nov. 14. Crowder began practicing in five-on-five settings last week and returns to action in Cleveland, albeit with a minute restriction.
“Number one, Jae has worked extremely hard to get back 100% in all of his rehab and just poured it all out there,” Griffin said. “We’re just glad to have his veteran leadership, his presence on the floor, just gives us another veteran guy coming off the bench. Excited about (it). Probably be some controlled minutes. Not gonna play him 40 minutes tonight, but it’ll be good to have him out there on the floor.”
Crowder checked in for the first time with the Bucks down 28-11 at the 2-minute, 59-second mark of the first quarter.
In his first nine games, Crowder made 51.6% of his three-pointers and averaged 8.1 points in 26.7 minutes per contest.
More: Bucks’ Jae Crowder ready to begin five-on-five practices: ‘I’ll be much better off than I was before’
Bucks injury report
- No players are listed with injuries.
Bucks starting lineup
- Guards: Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley
- Forwards: Khris Middleton, Andre Jackson Jr.
- Center: Brook Lopez
Bucks all-star voting: Giannis will be a starter while Damian Lillard still competing for a spot
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be heading to Indiana as an all-star starter for the Eastern Conference in Indianapolis on Feb. 18, and he hopes guard Damian Lillard can join him. Lillard is currently in a battle with Atlanta’s Trae Young to win the fan vote, which accounts for 50% of the starter with current players (25%) and media (25%) making up the rest.
“He’s definitely earned it,” Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said of Lillard. “In my opinion, he’s earned it. It’s not even a question. We have the second-best record in the East and he’s a big reason. Obviously Giannis is gonna be a starter but Dame definitely deserves it.”
The next voting update will be released on Thursday and voting closes on Saturday.
As for a couple players who would have to make the team off the coach’s vote, Griffin made his case for center Brook Lopez, who finished second in the defensive player of the year voting last season and currently leads the NBA in total blocks. He only trails San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama in blocks per game and number of games with five or more blocks. Lopez is also averaging 12.8 points per game.
“Brook, with his defense, I think you have to put value on defense and he’s strong on both sides of the ball,” Griffin said. “He’s very versatile. You see the three that he made vs. (Sacramento) and the way he protects the rim. I think he’s having a stellar year.”
Griffin also said Khris Middleton deserves a look. A three-time all-star, Middleton has averaged 17.4 points on 51.6% field goal shooting, 40.9% three-point shooting and 81.9% free throw shooting since Dec. 7. He’s also averaged 6.2 assists.
“I think we need three or four guys representing the Bucks in the (all-star game),” Griffin said. “But Dame is definitely, hands down, deserving of being an all-star.”
Griffin and his staff is also in line to coach the East if the Bucks remain behind Boston as the No. 2 seed through Feb. 4. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla coached in the all-star game a year ago and coaches cannot do it two seasons in a row.
Even if the Bucks only land Antetokounmpo and Lillard on the Eastern Conference team, guard Malik Beasley is making his case to be part of All-Star weekend as the league’s top three-point shooter. Heading into Wednesday, Beasley is leading the NBA by making 48.1% of his threes. He is just ahead of former Bucks guard and current Phoenix Sun Grayson Allen (48%). Beasley is two games away from breaking Ray Allen’s club record of 12 games with five or more made three-pointers, set in 2000-01 and challenging Dell Curry’s single-season Bucks record for three-point shooting (47.6% in 1998-99).
Assistant coaches pick the rookies and second-year players for the annual Rising Stars challenge. Bucks rookie Andre Jackson Jr. does not have some of the stats as his draft classmates, but his sharp and creative passing and high-flying dunks might be an attractive addition to the game. Greenfield’s Brandon Podziemski might have a good chance at making the game, as he’s averaging 9.2 points per game for Golden State.
Bucks vs. Cavaliers odds, over/under and moneyline
Milwaukee is a 3.5-point favorite to beat Cleveland on the road, and the over/under on the game is 236.5 points. The Bucks’ moneyline is minus-185 while the Cavaliers’ is plus-150, per BetMGM.