Georges Niang scored a career-high 33 points off the bench and Donovan Mitchell added 31 to fuel the host Cleveland Cavaliers to a 135-95 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
Niang made 13 of 14 shots from the floor and 5 of 6 attempts from 3-point range to send the Cavaliers to their sixth straight win and 11th in their last 14 games. Niang eclipsed his previous career high of 24 points, which he reached on three occasions.
Jarrett Allen collected 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 10th consecutive double-double for Cleveland, which dominated a Bucks team that was without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time NBA MVP missed his second game of the season due to a right shoulder contusion.
The Cavaliers shot a robust 59.1 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range to avenge a 119-111 loss to the Bucks on Dec. 29. Cleveland also held a 55-36 edge in rebounds and 33-8 advantage in fast-break points on Wednesday.
Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard made 7 of 20 shots from the floor to finish with 17 points.
Bobby Portis scored 16 points for the Bucks, who shot just 40 percent from the floor en route to seeing their three-game winning streak come to a halt.
Milwaukee’s Jae Crowder sank four 3-pointers to highlight his 15-point performance in his first game since Nov. 11 due to a groin injury.
Cleveland bolted out of the blocks and made 8 of its first 11 shots to seize a 22-2 lead. Mitchell scored 12 points during that surge. Milwaukee converted just 1 of its first 12 shot attempts.
The Bucks halved their deficit by the end of the first quarter before the Cavaliers found another gear and pushed their advantage to 66-41 at halftime.
Cleveland scored 32 of the first 47 points in the third quarter to push its lead to 98-56, with Mitchell making a pair of free throws and layup to cap the surge.
The Cavaliers put it on cruise control from there.
–Field Level Media
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