Including Tuesday night’s contest, the Cavaliers have led five of their last six foes by at least 20 points at some point during the game. In the previous four, Cleveland’s opponent went on a run to make it interesting.
But the Wine and Gold were in no mood for that in Milwaukee.
Instead, the Cavaliers jumped all over the Bucks early and never let up – leading by 14 after one quarter, 24 after two and by as many as 31 in the second stanza, snuffing every second-half run and coasting to their fourth straight win, a 109-80 laugher at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
J.R. Smith needed three, three-pointers to break Wesley Person’s franchise mark for a single season – and it took him less than one half of basketball to do so – splashing home his first four bombs of the game to move past Person and eclipse a mark that’d stood for 18 seasons. Breaking the old record of 192, J.R.’s mark now stands at 197 (and counting).
Smith led six Cavaliers in double-figures, scoring all 21 of his points before intermission – going 7-for-11 from beyond the arc and 7-for-12 overall in Tuesday’s win. Over his last three games, the 12th year pro has gone 17-for-29 (.586) from long-distance.
The Cavaliers’ Big Three were all on-point against Milwaukee. And despite none of Cleveland’s starters seeing action in the fourth quarter, LeBron James and Kevin Love still nearly notched double-doubles.
James – the East’s reigning Player of the Month – was 7-of-9 from the floor for 17 points to go with a game-high nine assists, five boards and a block. Love added 17 points of his own, snagging a team-high nine rebounds to go with three helpers.
Kyrie Irving – in his return to action after sitting out Sunday’s win over Charlotte with a sore right ankle – finished with 15 points, going 3-of-4 from long-distance, adding six assists and three boards.
The Cavaliers also got good production from their bigs off the bench. Tristan Thompson finished with 11 points and seven boards – going 5-of-6 from the floor – and Channing Frye pitched in with 10 points and six rebounds.
On the night, the Wine and Gold shot 55 percent from the field, 50 percent from deep and 90 percent from the stripe while holding the Bucks to 40 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
Milwaukee was led by impressive third-year swingman, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who nearly notched his sixth triple-double since the All-Star break and led the Bucks in all three categories – pacing the Bucks with 22 points, 14 boards and eight assists in the loss.
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