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Without Giannis and Myles Turner, the Milwaukee Bucks put up a surprisingly good fight against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but their hot shooting wasn’t enough in Tuesday’s home loss, going down 123-116. Without Giannis and Myles Turner, Kevin Porter Jr. led all Bucks scorers with a 25-point, 10-assist performance. Evan Mobley and James Harden paced Cleveland with 27 points each.

NBA.com Box Score

Game Recap

Surprisingly, the Bucks kept it close against the Cavs heading into the first timeout. They balanced out Evan Mobley’s tough paint buckets with solid shooting from the three-point line and throughout the midrange. However, a couple of physical buckets from Mobley only reinforced Cleveland’s size advantage, one they would exploit throughout the game. After some physical play between James Harden and Jericho Sims, Sims exited the game with a lacerated lip—he would return with stitches after halftime. Off of Harden’s 14 and Mobley’s 10, the Cavs ended the first quarter with 37 points to the Bucks’ 24.

The Bucks chipped away at the Cavs’ lead with a 17-4 run to start the second quarter. They found a reprieve from their offensive struggles via the three-point shot, with Ryan Rollins, Ousmane Dieng, and more all making shots from deep. A Dieng three from the wing with 7:02 left in the second quarter gave the Bucks their first lead of the game. From there, the Bucks took advantage of the Cavs’ lazy defense, going bucket for bucket to keep the game close going into halftime. Cleveland’s shooting, especially from the likes of Donovan Mitchell and Strus, was poor; they didn’t make a single triple throughout the entire quarter. KPJ converted a tough fadeaway over Strus to give the Bucks a 58-56 lead at half, capping an impressive second-quarter comeback.

The Cavs desperately needed some sort of three-point shooting boost, and they got that towards the middle of the third quarter. Sam Merrill began to find his rhythm, and James Harden baited defenders into heavy contact on three-point shots. Before long, Cleveland widened its lead to seven and threatened to extend it further. However, Kevin Porter Jr. continued to be the spark plug for the Bucks; on one side of the ball, he swatted away a Mitchell lay-up attempt, and on the other, he posterized Mitchell after getting downhill. Porter used his athleticism to wrench away tough buckets inside on defence, while stretching out the Cavs with a dangerous midrange shot on offence. His scoring and playmaking were vital as the Bucks fought off a late third-quarter rally, powering the Bucks to a two-point lead after three, 87-85.

Both sides turned it on to start the final frame. Mitchell finally began to click from three-point land, while the Bucks got to the paint in droves. Cleveland found its footing by drawing fouls and getting free throws; they had 34 free throw attempts to Milwaukee’s 17 for the game! Despite Pete Nance’s solid play off the bench, a couple of key Cleveland defensive stops paired with dynamic offense helped them build a seven-point lead with five minutes to go. Strus’ shot clock-beating triple essentially iced the game for the visitors, placing them firmly in the driver’s seat and forcing Milwaukee to play the foul game.

Stat That Stood Out

The points-in-the-paint disparity was large today; the Cavs put up 56 to the Bucks’ 34. Without Giannis or Turner, Mobley dominated the Bucks on the inside while frustrating their offense on the outside. It took an all-around great shooting performance from the Bucks to keep the game close.

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up a win on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.

LOSER – Perimeter Defense

I’m not sure how this gets better. Cleveland’s shown a general lack of interest in defending the perimeter this season. It’s probably due to a combination of poor effort and not having the right personnel. All I know is it’s something to be worried about.

The Cavaliers should be able to impose themselves over a team like the Bucks. No disrespect, but a 28-39 team that ranks 21st in offense and doesn’t have Giannis Antetokounmpo should be easy enough to bully. So when the Bucks started to look comfortable operating their offense, I started to get anxious.

Three-point variance is one thing. I believe the Cavs have lost a few games this season due to simple bad luck. It happens to everyone. But tonight was no such case. The Cavs didn’t contain the point of attack or recover to contest three-point shots. Not at a winning rate, at least.

The sample size is large enough to call this a legit trend. Not only do we have their last few games against the Dallas Mavericks and Orlando Magic as examples, but the Cavs are allowing opponents to shoot the third-best three-point percentage in the NBA against them.

That’s… startling.

LOSER – Donovan Mitchell

Mitchell has had a brilliant season. Perhaps the best he’s ever played. So please, do not interpret this section as slander. I’m not getting swept up in the moment. But Spida is having trouble spinning his web right now.

It’s not just his 4-14 shooting from tonight. Every star player is going to have games where shots don’t fall. The problem is his decision-making. Mitchell’s taken some unnecessary shots that would feel bold even if he was rolling. They look truly bad when he’s struggling, as he did in Milwaukee.

There’s value in recognizing when it’s not your night and instead shifting your attention to playmaking. Using yourself as a decoy to create for others. This is something we’ve seen him do in the past. He didn’t do it in this one.

Mitchell’s process has been questionable for a few games. He’s felt quick to call his own number and is possibly feeling some growing pains next to James Harden. The offense hasn’t felt as seamless as it did in their first weeks together. And, the defense has fallen off a cliff, as we highlighted above.

WINNER – Rapid Fire Round Up

I wouldn’t say that any individual player stole the show tonight. Not when it took this much effort to beat the Bucks. But I do think it’s worth highlighting the names who helped secure the win.

Evan Mobley finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. The easiest offense of the night came whenever the Cavs played through Mobley. He had a major advantage in the paint and made quick work whenever he drew a mismatch.

James Harden was also decisive on offense. He came out aggressive, scoring in bunches to start the game and carrying Cleveland’s backcourt with his playmaking. The Cavs don’t get over the hump without Harden keeping them alive throughout.

Finally, Sam Merrill, Max Strus, and Keon Ellis hit key shots. Merrill ended the game with 17 points while Ellis hit two big threes in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Strus, in just his second game of the season, helped Cleveland close the door on this one. It says a lot about how much Kenny Atkinson trusts Strus to lean on him — and he delivered.

With Jalen Brunson missing his first game in two months due to a neck issue Tuesday night, the Knicks knew they’d need someone to step up and carry their offense.

Fittingly, on the Mike and Ike sponsored t-shirt giveaway night at MSG, it was Josh Hart who delivered. 

“He must’ve ate some pregame,” Mike Brown joked. 

Whatever Hart did, it certainly worked, as he put together one of the most efficient scoring performances of his Knicks career in a commanding win over the Pacers. 

He had nine points in the first quarter, then added 10 more in the second to go into the halftime break with a game-high 19 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point land. 

Hart wasted no time drilling his fifth three on the opening possession of the third.

His heroics only continued from there, as he knocked down bucket after bucket to stretch his total out over the 30-point mark for the first time this season. 

With the game out of reach, he wouldn’t record a bucket in the fourth, but still finished with a game-leading and new Knicks career-high 33 points. 

He missed just one of his 13 field goals and was a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc. 

“Mike and Ike night, I knew I had to turn up a little bit,” Hart said postgame. 

“It was fun just being aggressive,” he continued. “Today my PD guy was just telling me to be aggressive, so I just went out there and just played my game and was shooting my shots and I was comfortable with it.”

That aggressiveness is exactly what Brown wants to see from Hart moving forward.

“I just like the fact that he took the right shots, he didn’t hesitate,” the head coach said. “He was 5-for-5 from the three-point line and at least four of them were from the corner, and he’s been really, really good from the corner all year -- if he’s open, we don’t want him to hesitate.

“Usually, when he does hesitate, he takes a couple of dribbles to the basket and it messes up his rhythm and stuff like that. He puts in the work, so for him to let it fly like he did tonight and more of them going in, I was more excited about that than anything else.”

The Suns’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night carried real weight. This was one of those opportunities you circle, one where you can make up ground and shift the standings in your favor as you try to climb out of the Play-In.

And they let it slip.

Phoenix walked out of Minnesota with a 116-104 loss, and the story felt familiar. The Timberwolves brought physicality, defensive intensity, and rim protection, and it took the Suns out of what they wanted to do. For the third straight game, a quality defense made second-half adjustments that completely disrupted Phoenix’s offense. Once that happened, everything unraveled. The offense stalled, and the response on the other end did not hold. The paint opened, possessions became easier for Minnesota, and it turned into a layup line. That has been the pattern during this stretch. When the offense goes quiet, the defense does not stabilize things. The Suns scored just 18 points in the 4th.

Phoenix shot 38% from the field, and the inefficiency showed up everywhere.

Jordan Goodwin went 1-of-6. Collin Gillespie finished 4-of-13. And Jalen Green, whose last name happens to align with St. Patrick’s Day, had an ironic night, going 3-of-17 and scoring only nine points.

Now the Suns find themselves three games out of the sixth seed with 13 to go, and the margin for error continues to shrink.

Game Flow

First Half

Minnesota came out with a clear intention. Attack the interior, lean into their size, make Phoenix feel it early. No surprise there. But to the Suns’ credit, they had a counter ready. They went five out with Oso Ighodaro pulling Rudy Gobert away from the paint, and that changed the geometry of the floor immediately. The lane opened. The spacing felt clean. Suddenly, those driving angles were there, and Phoenix took advantage.

Phoenix opened the game 7-of-11 from the field, and every single make came with an assist attached to it. The ball was moving. The offense was breathing, and Collin Gillespie was at the center of it. Four assists on those seven made field goals, orchestrating, reading, making the right decision. He kept things connected, which is when this offense looks its best.

The first round of rotations brought a familiar name back into the mix. Ryan Dunn checked in, which stood out considering the past few games had leaned toward Rasheer Fleming or Haywood Highsmith in those minutes. This time, Jordan Ott gave the sophomore a longer look. Khaman Maluach was part of that initial rotation as well.

Devin Booker set the tone early in a way that felt both encouraging and familiar. He had a pair of and-1 opportunities, leaning into Minnesota’s physicality and turning it into an advantage. There was a stretch where he scored 9 consecutive points. It echoed what we saw in Boston, where he carried the load and kept Phoenix steady when things could have tilted.

Minnesota stayed within reach through effort plays. Long rebounds bounced their way, and they capitalized. Five offensive rebounds early turned into 11 second-chance points, which kept them afloat while Phoenix controlled much of the flow.

While last night it was Derrick White and Payton Pritchard catching fire from beyond the arc, this time it was Bones Hyland for Minnesota. He checked in midway through the quarter and immediately got going, finishing 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep for a quick 11 points.

Despite Phoenix scoring 39 points in the first quarter and shooting 46.2% from three, they only led by three at the end of the frame. Devin Booker led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and Collin Gillespie added six assists as the Suns took a 39–36 lead into the second.

With Devin Booker on the bench to start the second, it was Jalen Green running the offense, and he was doing a good job. He hit a step-back three and delivered a smooth assist to Rasheer Fleming in the lane. But there is a reason we call him “Guacamole”. Because sometimes is browns fast, and it did for Green in the second. He went 1-of-8 in the quarter, including a missed wide-open layup at the end of the quarter.

With 9:24 left in the quarter, Naz Reid went down on a play where Jordan Goodwin grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds. Reid came down on Goodwin’s ankle and tweaked it. The Suns challenged the play, and for the 48th time this season, they were right as Goodwin was fouled. Insult to injury for Minnesota, although Reid would return in the third.

Rasheer Fleming continued to look good early, starting 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, with one of those attempts being a grenade passed to him with under a second on the shot clock.

As the second quarter went on, both teams traded blows. Five minutes in, the Suns were being outscored 15–14 by the Timberwolves. The Suns’ offense started to sputter, going 3-of-12 from the field, but it came at a time when Minnesota cooled off as well. Still, with 2:23 left in the second quarter, the 11-point lead Phoenix built early was gone as the Timberwolves tied the game.

The Suns shot 35.7% from the field in the quarter, and Jalen Green struggled, going 3-of-14 in the first half with eight points and four assists. Oso Ighodaro led the way efficiently with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with five rebounds, while Devin Booker added 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

Minnesota had three players in double figures, led by Bones Hyland with 15 off the bench, Julius Randle with 13, and Jaden McDaniels with 12. Entering halftime, the Suns trailed 64–63.

Second Half

Collin Gillespie has struggled offensively of late, and he had zero points in the first half. But he opened the second half with a pair of three-point makes. It was clear the Suns made a point to get him involved, as he had four of their first six shot attempts.

The Suns’ offense started to go cold again, as they put together another scoreless stretch. They missed eight consecutive shots midway through the third, and turnovers began to pile up. Credit Minnesota’s defense; they were dictating the pace and disrupting everything Phoenix tried to run. Despite all of that, with six minutes left in the quarter, the Suns only trailed by two.

Devin Booker was clearly frustrated with the physicality, which is not surprising against a team like Minnesota. They lean into that style and make you feel it on every possession. On one end, Booker thought he deserved an and one after getting bumped on a drive and finish at the rim. On the other, Bones Hyland attacked and got a foul call on a very similar play. Jordan Ott challenged it and lost, but the moment stood out.

The physicality was ramping up on both sides, and you could feel the temperature rising. Players were chirping, reactions were getting sharper, and the officials were right in the middle of it as the game started to take on that edge.

Ryan Dunn, who had logged consecutive DNPs, played quality minutes in the third. He had seven points and four rebounds in the quarter, along with an impressive block on Bones Hyland. For someone who has not seen the floor much lately, his number was called, and he delivered.

Devin Booker once again carried a heavy load, especially with Jalen Green struggling to find offense. Booker scored or assisted on 15 consecutive points in the third, keeping Phoenix afloat. Late in the quarter, with under 30 seconds left, he tried the Chris Paul slow roll move, letting the ball drift up the floor. Minnesota jumped it, forced the turnover, and Booker followed it with a frustration foul on Julius Randle.

The next possession? Booker turned it over again, which led to a fast break layup for Minnesota.

So despite a solid individual quarter, where Booker had 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting, the team struggled as a whole. Phoenix shot 7-of-21 from the field, good for 33%, while Minnesota stayed hot at 10-of-23.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Suns trailed 92–86.

This was starting to feel like one of those games where every Suns possession required real work to even get a shot up, while on the other end, it was a turnstile in the paint for Minnesota. Soon, the Suns were down 10.

The slide continued. Phoenix opened the quarter 0-of-5, while the Timberwolves came out 3-of-3, added and ones, and jumped out to a 7–0 run to start the fourth.

Once again, it was the paint where the opposition set up camp, started a fire, and got comfortable.

Minnesota opened the quarter 6-of-6 from the field, and every make came at the rim. They did not miss their first shot until the 6:32 mark, living in the paint and dictating everything on that end of the floor. Phoenix put together a 9–2 run late in the quarter, getting the deficit to within nine with 1:32 left in the game. But alas, it was too much to overcome.

Up Next

Phoenix gets one night of rest as they pack their bag and head to the final stop on their six-game road trip. That stop? San Antonio, Texas.

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Milwaukee Bucks. Evan Mobley and James Harden tied to lead all scorers with 27 points. Mobley also contributed 15 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Milwaukee was without Giannis Antetokounmpo in this game. The Cavaliers saw the return of Sam Merrill and Jaylon Tyson, though Jarrett Allen and Craig Porter Jr. are still on the sidelines. Max Strus, who made his season debut on Sunday, played another 23 minutes tonight.

Cleveland opened the game strong, with big performances from James Harden and Evan Mobley in the opening quarter. Harden scored 14 points in the opening frame while Mobley immediately established himself as a mismatch punisher. This dual threat was firing on all cylinders and made you think this would be a quick game.

Sadly, the Cavs’ defense once again let them down.

Poor closeouts led to a three-point barrage from Milwaukee. The Bucks cut into Cleveland’s lead before they had any chance to truly build a cushion. In no time, the Cavs found themselves trailing going into halftime after allowing the Bucks to hit eight threes in the second quarter.

Defense has been a concern all season. The Cavaliers are struggling to dictate the terms of engagement, succumbing to the will of their opponent on most nights. Opposing teams have been launching three-pointers at far too high a rate. This is something that will need to be resolved before the playoffs begin.

The Cavs did just enough to squeak this one out in the fourth quarter. They can thank Sam Merrill, Keon Ellis and Strus for each hitting big shots down the stretch to keep them in front.

Tonight’s win gives the Cavs a 42-27 record. They have 13 games left before the postseason begins. The most important thing right now is getting healthy. But it would make us all feel better if they took some meaningful steps forward defensively along the way.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 30 points and 13 assists, and the Charlotte Hornets pulled away in a huge fourth quarter to beat the short-handed Miami Heat 136-106 on Tuesday night.

Coby White scored 24 points off the bench and rookie Kon Knueppel added 22 as Charlotte (35-34) won for the ninth time in 12 games. Brandon Miller scored 16 for the Hornets, who are 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Tyler Herro had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Heat (38-31), who dropped their second straight following a season-best seven-game winning streak. They played without star forward Bam Adebayo, who sat out with right calf tightness after being listed as questionable before the game.

Adebayo hadn't missed a game since Dec. 27. He scored 83 points last Tuesday in a 150-129 win over Washington, second-most in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.

Andrew Wiggins missed his sixth consecutive game with a toe injury, and Miami forward Nikola Jovic (back) did not play for the 12th game in a row. He was listed as probable before the game and was expected to return.

Miami remained seventh in the East, a half-game behind Orlando.

Miles Bridges had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, back home from a 2-2 trip against Western Conference teams. After leading 96-88 through three quarters, they outscored Miami 40-18 in the fourth.

Moussa Diabate grabbed 13 boards to go with eight points and four assists.

Ball, who also had six rebounds, reached 6,000 career points on a basket in the third quarter. He also scored 30 points last Wednesday in a 117-109 victory at Sacramento.

Norman Powell scored 17 points for Miami, which had won five consecutive meetings with the Hornets.

Up next

Heat: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

Hornets: Host the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba