The Milwaukee Bucks' heartbreak continued for the fifth game in a row as they lost 114-113 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were now 7-0. Despite the loss, it was a masterclass for Damian Lillard, who dropped 41 points, but Donovan Mitchell equalized with 30 points to lead the Cavaliers.

NBA.com Box Score

Game review

“Dame Time” was on from the start as Lillard and Tauren Prince got the party started for the Bucks, making it 9-0 in the first 1:32 of the game. Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson called a timeout to stop the run, but the Bucks just kept coming. After an Evan Mobley layup made it a four-point game, the Bucks went on a 24-11 run to take a 33-17 lead with 4:43 left in the first. Cleveland used an old friend of the Bucks, Sam Merrill, to keep the ball tight. He and Isaac Okoro went for nine straight points to cut the lead to eight points. Damian Lillard continued his hot shooting, finishing with eighteen points and helping the Bucks to a 38-30 lead after the first twelve minutes of play.

The Bucks showed a strong performance at the start of the second quarter and increased their lead to eleven points after just over three minutes had elapsed. After Giannis threw down a one-handed jam with 8:58 left, the Cavs began to assert themselves as each of their next five possessions resulted in a shot around the basket before Okoro and Mitchell made three-pointers to tie the game 53-53 , 3:34 left. Cleveland took its first lead of the game and extended it to six before the dynamic duo of Giannis and Dame began cooking. Giannis and Dame scored layups on consecutive possessions before Giannis threw an unmarked behind-the-back pass to Dame, who took the ball to the third corner and took a 62-61 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter was back and forth throughout. The largest lead for either side was four points. Both offenses appeared to be unbalanced after a hook shot from Bobby Portis tied the game at 81-81 as neither team scored 1:36 into the game. Lillard got the offense going with a three-pointer to give Milwaukee a slight advantage. Cleveland scored six straight points at the end of the quarter, thanks largely to Donovan Mitchell, giving the Cavaliers an 87-83 lead entering the fourth quarter. Bobby Portis struggled mightily, scoring just one basket, committing two fouls and falling behind on defense against Cavs greats Mobley and Allen.

Cleveland started the fourth quarter on the right foot, outscoring the Bucks 9-6 in the first 2:35 to take a six-point lead, forcing Doc Rivers to call a timeout. Over the next few minutes, the Bucks would slowly chip away at the Cavaliers' lead. Gary Trent Jr., who had gone scoreless the entire game, finally hit a key three-pointer off an assist from Giannis to bring the Bucks back within one point. Enter the Dame show as he continued to terrorize the Cavs from deep, hitting two three-pointers to give the Bucks their first lead since the third quarter at 109-107. A pair of layups from Jarrett Allen put Cleveland back in the lead with 2:33 left. The shooting just didn't let up down the stretch on both sides until Giannis hit a hook shot with 1:08 to play after an Allen free throw made it 112-111 for Cleveland. After a few misses on both sides, the Bucks had a chance to regain the lead with 14.9 on the clock, and Dame delivered again, hitting a retreating mid-range jumper over Darius Garland to give the Bucks a 113- 112 to provide. But that wasn't to be the case as Donovan Mitchell managed a ridiculous shot from mid-range after almost fumbling the ball out of bounds. The mark gave Cleveland a 114-113 lead with 0.3 seconds left when Dame's catch-and-shoot three-pointer hit the back of the net and narrowly missed.

Statistics that stood out

The Bucks struggled to get off the bench on offense, scoring just thirteen points, ten of which came from Bobby Portis. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers had 36 points from their bench, including seventeen from former Buck Sam Merrill.

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