Dennis Schröder played his best game for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Cavs still lost 116-118 to the Milwaukee Bucks. Cleveland rested most of its stars.
Without James Harden (broken thumb), Donovan Mitchell (groin), and Evan Mobley (ankle), the Cavs took to the court in Milwaukee, allowing Dennis Schröder to really let loose in the beer city. The Braunschweig native was on the court for almost 35 minutes, scoring 26 points (8/14 FG, 3/6 3P, 7/9 FT) and five assists. In the end, however, Schröder was unlucky when his layup over Jericho Sims’ arms didn’t fall into the basket. Big man Jarrett Allen then grabbed the rebound and sank the putback, which would have meant overtime, but after a review, the referees determined that the ball was still in the center’s hands when the red light came on. The playmaker was the Bucks’ top scorer with 20 points (10/16), who continued to be without Giannis Antetokounmpo. Backcourt partner Ryan Rollins (18, 9 assists) also impressed, with seven of the nine Bucks players who saw action scoring in double figures.
Cavs remain fourth in the East
Allen was the Cavs’ top scorer with 27 points and 11 rebounds, but the visitors only converted 30 percent of their three-pointers (12/40) and were unable to compensate for this with a strong performance on the boards (25 points from offensive rebounds). Milwaukee, on the other hand, netted 19 three-pointers, five each from A.J. Green (15) and Kyle Kuzma (17).
The defeat meant the Cavs missed out on moving up to third place, which is still held by the New York Knicks (37-22). Milwaukee improved to 26-31 after their second win in a row and are now only one game behind tenth place, which is held by the Charlotte Hornets. On Saturday night, the Cavs travel to Detroit for a top-of-the-table clash, with the return game coming up the following week. Everything you need to know about the rest of the night’s games can be found here.