CLEVELAND -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Darius Garland added 16 and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved to 15-1 at home with a 124-101 win on Friday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, who played for the first time since winning the NBA Cup.

Cleveland is 3-0 this season against Milwaukee, which was without All-Star guard Damian Lillard because of a strained calf.

Evan Mobley scored 15 and Cleveland made 20 3-pointers while pushing its league-best record to 24-4.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 14 rebounds for the Bucks, who may need a couple more days to shake off their collective hangover after winning the Cup on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

With Lillard sidelined, the Bucks were missing their second-best player and 25.7 points per game. Milwaukee's starting guards — Andre Jackson Jr. and AJ Green — shot a combined 0 of 9.

Takeaways

Bucks: Coach Doc Rivers doesn't believe Lillard's injury is “severe” and the team is being cautious. ... Rivers said it was "weird" winning a tournament and resuming play. The turnaround didn't give Milwaukee's players much time to recover. Rivers hopes the league addresses the tight window in the future.

Cavaliers: Max Strus made his season debut after being sidelined with an ankle injury. He finished with nine points in 19 minutes.

Key moment

After Strus made a 3-pointer, Caris LeVert dropped a layup and then poked away Milwaukee's inbound pass. The ball got to Mitchell, who buried a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in the third quarter to put the Cavs up 27.

Key stat

Antetokounmpo was named MVP of the Cup, the ninth trophy the eight-time All-Star and two-time league MVP has won during his career — the most for any player. Michael Jordan and LeBron James each won eight.

Up next

The Bucks host Washington on Saturday. It's also a back-to-back for the Cavaliers, who host Philadelphia.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Brook Lopez vs. Jarrett Allen (Evan Mobley gains possession)	0	0
11:46	Darius Garland misses 24-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:42	Giannis Antetokounmpo defensive rebound	0	0
11:28	Giannis Antetokounmpo misses 17-foot pullup jump shot	0	0
11:26	Andre Jackson Jr. offensive rebound	0	0
11:26	Andre Jackson Jr. misses tip shot	0	0
11:24	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	0	0
11:16	Donovan Mitchell makes 23-foot step back jumpshot	2	0
10:59	Brook Lopez makes 24-foot three point jumper (AJ Green assists)	2	3
10:46	Evan Mobley misses 25-foot three point jumper	2	3
10:44	Taurean Prince defensive rebound	2	3
10:33	Andre Jackson Jr. misses 23-foot three point jumper	2	3
10:30	Dean Wade defensive rebound	2	3
10:22	Darius Garland out of bounds bad pass turnover	2	3
10:08	Giannis Antetokounmpo lost ball turnover (Dean Wade steals)	2	3
10:00	Donovan Mitchell misses running pullup jump shot	2	3
9:58	Andre Jackson Jr. defensive rebound	2	3
9:44	Giannis Antetokounmpo misses driving layup	2	3
9:41	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	2	3
9:38	Darius Garland misses two point shot	2	3
9:38	Evan Mobley offensive rebound	2	3
9:30	Dean Wade makes 23-foot three point jumper (Donovan Mitchell assists)	5	3
9:13	Taurean Prince misses 26-foot three point jumper	5	3
9:10	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	5	3
9:03	Jarrett Allen misses layup	5	3
9:01	Taurean Prince defensive rebound	5	3
9:00	Dean Wade personal foul	5	3
8:42	AJ Green misses 28-foot three point pullup jump shot	5	3
8:39	Dean Wade defensive rebound	5	3
8:32	Jarrett Allen makes 1-foot layup (Evan Mobley assists)	7	3
8:11	Dean Wade shooting foul	7	3
8:11	Giannis Antetokounmpo misses free throw 1 of 2	7	3
8:11	Bucks offensive team rebound	7	3
8:11	Giannis Antetokounmpo misses free throw 2 of 2	7	3
8:08	Dean Wade defensive rebound	7	3
7:55	Brook Lopez shooting foul	7	3
7:55	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 1 of 2	8	3
7:55	Donovan Mitchell misses free throw 2 of 2	8	3
7:52	Bucks defensive team rebound	8	3
7:39	Giannis Antetokounmpo makes 8-foot two point shot (Andre Jackson Jr. assists)	8	5
7:22	Brook Lopez blocks Darius Garland's driving layup	8	5
7:19	Brook Lopez defensive rebound	8	5
7:17	Evan Mobley shooting foul	8	5
7:17	Giannis Antetokounmpo makes free throw 1 of 2	8	6
7:17	Cavaliers Full timeout	8	6
7:17	Max Strus enters the game for Donovan Mitchell	8	6
7:17	Caris LeVert enters the game for Evan Mobley	8	6
7:17	Giannis Antetokounmpo misses free throw 2 of 2	8	6
7:15	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	8	6
7:03	Jarrett Allen bad pass (AJ Green steals)	8	6
6:48	Andre Jackson Jr. bad pass (Jarrett Allen steals)	8	6
6:37	Jarrett Allen makes 11-foot two point shot (Dean Wade assists)	10	6
6:14	Giannis Antetokounmpo misses alley oop layup	10	6
6:10	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	10	6
6:07	Caris LeVert bad pass (Taurean Prince steals)	10	6
6:03	Giannis Antetokounmpo out of bounds bad pass turnover	10	6
6:03	Gary Trent Jr. enters the game for Andre Jackson Jr.	10	6
5:48	Darius Garland makes 12-foot pullup jump shot	12	6
5:28	AJ Green misses 23-foot three point pullup jump shot	12	6
5:25	Darius Garland defensive rebound	12	6
5:19	Darius Garland misses two point shot	12	6
5:17	Brook Lopez defensive rebound	12	6
5:04	Giannis Antetokounmpo makes alley oop dunk shot (Brook Lopez assists)	12	8
4:53	Jarrett Allen makes alley oop layup (Darius Garland assists)	14	8
4:41	AJ Green misses 27-foot three point jumper	14	8
4:38	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	14	8
4:29	Dean Wade makes 25-foot three point jumper (Darius Garland assists)	17	8
4:29	Bucks Full timeout	17	8
4:29	Evan Mobley enters the game for Darius Garland	17	8
4:29	Georges Niang enters the game for Jarrett Allen	17	8
4:29	Donovan Mitchell enters the game for Dean Wade	17	8
4:29	Khris Middleton enters the game for Taurean Prince	17	8
4:29	Pat Connaughton enters the game for AJ Green	17	8
4:29	Bobby Portis enters the game for Giannis Antetokounmpo	17	8
4:09	Brook Lopez makes two point shot (Khris Middleton assists)	17	10
3:44	Max Strus misses 23-foot three point jumper	17	10
3:40	Bobby Portis defensive rebound	17	10
3:27	Bobby Portis misses 21-foot jumper	17	10
3:24	Georges Niang defensive rebound	17	10
3:12	Caris LeVert misses 25-foot three point jumper	17	10
3:09	Gary Trent Jr. defensive rebound	17	10
2:55	Khris Middleton misses 14-foot two point shot	17	10
2:53	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	17	10
2:41	Max Strus misses 25-foot three point jumper	17	10
2:38	Pat Connaughton defensive rebound	17	10
2:22	Bobby Portis makes 5-foot two point shot	17	12
2:04	Evan Mobley makes 13-foot two point shot (Caris LeVert assists)	19	12
1:54	Gary Trent Jr. misses 24-foot three point jumper	19	12
1:51	Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound	19	12
1:45	Caris LeVert makes 13-foot two point shot	21	12
1:32	Bobby Portis makes 26-foot three point jumper (Khris Middleton assists)	21	15
1:13	Caris LeVert misses two point shot	21	15
1:11	Khris Middleton defensive rebound	21	15
1:06	Pat Connaughton makes 24-foot three point jumper (Bobby Portis assists)	21	18
51.2	Caris LeVert makes 25-foot three point jumper (Donovan Mitchell assists)	24	18
35.2	Khris Middleton makes 17-foot two point shot	24	20
28.0	Donovan Mitchell makes 15-foot step back jumpshot	26	20
22.1	Max Strus personal foul	26	20
2.1	Khris Middleton misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	26	20
1.1	Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound	26	20
0.1	Khris Middleton shooting foul	26	20
0.1	(00:00.5) [Bucks] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (REPLAY SUPPORTS CALL)	26	20
0.1	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 1 of 3	27	20
0.1	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 2 of 3	28	20
0.1	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 3 of 3	29	20
0.0	(00:00) [Bucks] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (CALL OVERTURNED)	29	20
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	29	20

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Rocket Arena

Cleveland, OH

Date & Time

12:30 AM, December 21, 2024

Coverage

NBA TV, FanDuel SN OH, FanDuel SN WI

Attendance

19,432

Referees

Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Jason Goldenberg

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Detroit	45	15	.750	L1
Cleveland	39	24	.619	W2
Milwaukee	26	34	.433	L3
Chicago	25	37	.403	L1
Indiana	15	46	.246	L6

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Donovan Mitchell scores 27 as Cavs improve to 15-1 at home, roll over NBA Cup champion Bucks 124-101

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