Giannis Antetokounmpo tied his career high with 34 points as the Milwaukee Bucks routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 101 - 118. The loss snapped the Cavs' four-game winning streak while Milwaukee improved its record to 8-8. Despite the blowout, this is only Cleveland's third loss of the season.
The player known as the "Greek Freak" also added 12 rebounds and five assists to his stat line. He got some help from Jabari Parker who scored 18 points and Michael Beasley who chipped in with 17 points from the bench. Lebron James had 22 points for Cleveland while Kyrie Irving added 20 points. Forward Kevin Love had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, but shot only 3-for-10 from the floor.
The Bucks did most of their damage in the paint where they scored a season high 68 points. The Cavaliers started the game hot and managed to build a 14-point lead in the first quarter, but Milwaukee fought back and went on a 10-0 run that closed the gap to within two by the end of the period.
The game also marked the first time Australian swingman Matthew Dellavedova faced off against the team that he had won a championship with in last season's NBA finals. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dellavedova talked about how he was eager to face his former team. He finished with just 3 points, but also had 7 assists for the night as well.
Giannis and Beasley helped swing the momentum over to the Bucks' side and they ended the first half with a 58-54 lead. Milwaukee outscored the Cavaliers 30-24 in the third quarter and lead by as many as 20. Cleveland would go on a late run in the final moments of the third quarter, but the Bucks were still able to hold on to their lead heading to the fourth.
Even when Cleveland pulled out their starters in the fourth quarter, the young Bucks did not let up and continued to attack. They shot 53.5 percent from the floor collectively and outrebounded the Cavs 43 - 35.
Antetokounmpo has been having a breakout season with averages of 21.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. He was voted by the league's general managers as the number 1 international player in the NBA this season according to a report on NBA.com.
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