Cavaliers remain undefeated with comeback against Milwaukee

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, right, embraces teammate guard Darius Garland, left, late in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

CLEVELAND – Darius Garland scored 39 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 8-0 with a 116-114 win Monday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, who played without injured superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Cavs also went 8-0 in 1976.

Garland drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and the Cavs rallied down the stretch, outscoring the Bucks 18-8 in the final 6:06.

Jarrett Allen added 14 points, 15 rebounds and had a huge block on Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard in the final seconds.

Lillard scored 36 for the Bucks, but committed a costly turnover when he was called for an over-and-back violation with 56 seconds left.

Bobby Portis added 21 points and 18 rebounds for Milwaukee, which has lost six straight.

It was Cleveland’s second win in three days over Milwaukee. On Saturday, Donovan Mitchell made a jumper in the final seconds to give the Cavs a 114-113 victory.

Antetokounmpo sat out with a strained adductor muscle, an injury the two-time MVP suffered in the loss to Cleveland.

Takeaways

Bucks: Showed perseverance by giving everything they had despite not having Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 31 points. Milwaukee’s schedule hasn’t helped, with five of the seven games scheduled.

Cavaliers: Another good lesson in not taking any team for granted. The Cavs also survived without Mitchell carrying them. He scored just one point after the first quarter and finished with 14.

Key moment

Mobley showed off his all-around game in a span of seven seconds in the second quarter. Protecting under the rim, the 7-footer rose to block a layup, grabbed the rebound, dribbled the length of the floor and dove to ignite a 10-2 run.

Key stat

The Cavs were only the second team in history to start 7-0 with each player averaging less than 30 minutes. Seattle did it in 1978.

Next

The Bucks host the Utah Jazz on Thursday. The Cavaliers are in New Orleans on Wednesday.