The Milwaukee Bucks dropped last night’s match-up against the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-99 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. With this loss, the Bucks have dropped to fifth in the eastern conference, while the Cavs jumped to third. This was the Bucks’ second loss to the Cavs in three match-ups so far this season. Milwaukee took game one 112-104 on Dec. 6 at home before dropping the second home match-up 119-90 on Dec. 18. 

The Cavs showed everyone that they’re a force to be reckoned with. With that, here are three takeaways from last night’s game.

1. Guarding the perimeter is crucial 

While the Bucks spent most of the game defending the interior, the Cavs burnt them from beyond the arc. Despite shooting a 14th-best 35.1% from three on the year, the Cavs drained 19 out of 42 attempts, converting on 45% of their shots from distance. Milwaukee started off hot from distance too, beginning the game shooting 6-for-7 from deep. However, they finished 9-for-32, a mere 28%, from distance. 

Small forward Cedi Osman drained a game-high six out of his 14 three-point attempts to go along with his 23 points. But he wasn’t the only one hurting the Bucks from deep; Darius Garland went 3-for-5 as well. 

2. Darius Garland is a problem

Garland, the three-year guard out of Vanderbilt, put up 19 points while shooting 7-for-12 from the field. Having full control of the offense, Garland dished out a game-high eight assists in just 26 minutes. He ended up leaving the game in the middle of the third quarter after landing awkwardly following a reverse lay-up. He was grabbing his lower back as he exited through the tunnel.

3. The Cavs’ bench is deep with talent

Kevin Love (25 pts) and Osman (23 pts) coming off the bench and being the two highest scorers for the Cavs should tell you all that you need to know about this team. The onslaught of scoring did not leave the court when the Cavs’ starters did, outscoring the Bucks’ bench 57-15. 

Love, the 14-year power forward, converted on five of his nine three-point attempts while having nine rebounds and two assists. Even after Garland left the game in the middle of the third quarter, Cleveland’s bench helped the Cavs cruise to a comfortable victory.

A silver lining looking forward

While the Bucks struggled to defend and score from deep, Giannis Antetokounmpo still put up 26 points to extend his 20 point streak to 17 games.

The Bucks will have a shot to even out the season series at 2-2 when the play the Cavs one last time on April 10. 

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