Cavaliers’ second-half woes return as Bucks cruise to 124-99 victory

CLEVELAND (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Jrue Holiday scored 20 and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in two days, 124-99 on Saturday night.

Khris Middleton added 20 points and Bryn Forbes had 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting from 3-point territory for the Bucks, who broke the game open with a 42-18 run spanning the third and fourth quarters and won their fourth in a row.

Milwaukee began its six-game road trip Friday, when Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 12 boards in a 123-105 victory at Cleveland. The Bucks didn’t arrive in Northeast Ohio until the afternoon due to mechanical issues on their team plane.

Andre Drummond paced the Cavaliers with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Cleveland completed a stretch of four home games in six days, winning once, and has lost seven of its nine overall.

“We’re still in the fight.”

For the @cavs to get back on track, Andre Drummond says it’s a matter of resisting complacency and getting back to the basics.#BeTheFight pic.twitter.com/gN7D2ECU4Q

— FOX Sports Cleveland (@FOXSportsCLE) February 7, 2021

Milwaukee went ahead for good late in the first and took its largest lead at 122-92 on a floater by Jaylen Adams with 3:16 left in the fourth. Holiday finished with eight assists and Antetokounmpo had five.

Collin Sexton scored 17 points and Darius Garland had 17 points and nine assists for Cleveland. Drummond made 12 of 17 shots and was 4 of 5 from the foul line, while Taurean Prince had 12 points off the bench.

Milwaukee held a 59-54 advantage at halftime thanks to 14 points and six assists from Holiday. Drummond and Sexton each scored 13 points for Cleveland as the teams combined to shoot 54.3%.

Cavaliers power forward Larry Nance Jr. had four points after missing three games with a sprained right wrist.

OFF THE MARK

Drummond owns a career-low .477 field goal percentage and had gone five games without making more than half his shots. Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff accepted some blame for Drummond’s inefficiency. “We have to diversify his package and make him more difficult for defenses to find,” Bickerstaff said. Drummond also has fallen to second in the NBA in rebounding behind Atlanta’s Clint Capela during his offensive slump.

TIP-INS

Bucks: G D.J. Augustin attempted Milwaukee’s first free throw 61 seconds into the second quarter. … Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer declined to rest any players or implement minutes restrictions in the second half of the back-to-back set. .. All three rookies are on G-League assignments with different teams: F Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland), G Sam Merrill (Memphis) and F Jordan Nwora (Salt Lake City).

Cavaliers: Sexton has 55 consecutive double-figure scoring games, the ninth-longest active streak in the NBA. … Rookie F Isaac Okoro played 14 minutes in the first half without recording a statistic. … F Kevin Love (right calf strain) missed his 22nd straight game, but worked out on the court before the arena gates opened. The five-time All-Star last played on Dec. 27 against Philadelphia.

It’s good to see Kevin Love progressing back to basketball activities!! #Cavs pic.twitter.com/q34OM7H9F5

— Angel Gray (@Angel_Gray1) February 7, 2021

UP NEXT

Bucks: At Denver on Monday. Milwaukee lost both games against the Nuggets by double-digit margins last season and is 9-40 all-time in the Mile High City.

Cavaliers: At Phoenix on Monday. Cleveland begins a five-game trip and won’t return to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse until Feb. 17 against San Antonio.