Bucks at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers were pushed to the brink in the first game of a home-and-home with Milwaukee and attempt to complete the sweep when they host the Bucks on Wednesday. Milwaukee made a late fourth-quarter push to force overtime on Tuesday but LeBron James hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the extra session to help the Cavaliers record a 114-108 victory.
Cleveland was thrilled to pick up the win in Milwaukee after suffering a 118-101 loss on Nov. 29 in its first visit to town earlier this season. "It's a big time for our team," James told reporters afterward. "It was a great road win. We know this team plays us tough every single time, so it was a big win for us to come in here and get a win in a building that we didn't play well in last time and they beat up on us." Milwaukee forward Jabari Parker scored 30 points - his second highest-scoring outing of the campaign - to go with nine rebounds and the Duke product has seven 20-point outings in December. The Bucks, who have dropped four of their last six games, are beginning a stretch in which they play six of eight games on the road.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (13-13): Small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo once again had a big outing against the Cavaliers with 25 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Antetokounmpo scored 34 points in the November win over Cleveland and the Cavaliers have trouble matching up with his blend of athleticism and 6-11 size, and Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd will surely have some new wrinkles for the rematch. "We can watch video, clean up some mistakes and give them another run (Wednesday)," Kidd told the media afterward. "Understanding that small plays mean everything. Coming up with loose balls, being able to finish plays on the defensive end and, hopefully, a couple more shots go down for us."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (20-6): James scored 34 points in Tuesday's game and moved past Moses Malone (27,409) into eighth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 27,442 career points. He knocked down five of Cleveland's 17 3-pointers and also contributed 12 rebounds and seven assists. Power forward Kevin Love (knee) missed Tuesday's game after rolling together six straight 20-point outings and is questionable for Wednesday's game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers have won six of the past nine meetings.
2. Cleveland SG J.R. Smith (thumb) departed Tuesday's game in the third quarter and will be re-examined Wednesday.
3. Milwaukee F Michael Beasley (foot) will likely miss his fourth consecutive game.