Milwaukee Bucks at Cleveland Cavaliers

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

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.

Regular Season Series

CLE leads series 3-0

Matchup Prediction