CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Kevin Love would prefer if the Cavaliers stayed below the radar while they methodically ascend the Eastern Conference standings.
That’s starting to get hard to do.
If last week’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets was a signature win, what on earth was Wednesday night’s complete demolition of the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks?
A statement?
“The statement is what our guys are capable of,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “This isn’t a commentary on opponents. It’s a commentary on our group of guys and the ability they have when they’re together. That’s the statement we’re making.
“This is about us as a group and what we can do when we play the right way, play together. I think we did that against a very good team. Don’t short the Bucks at all, they’re a really good team, but tonight I thought we outplayed them.”
Behind a three-point barrage off the bench by Love and Cedi Osman, the Cavs ran the Bucks right out of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, 115-99. The victory pushed Cleveland to 30-19, tied for the second-most wins in the Eastern Conference and into the third seed, one game behind 30-17 Chicago and 1 ½ back of the 31-17 Miami Heat.
“We feel if we play hard and stay true to our system, we can beat anybody,” Love said. “I just want to bottle up what we have right now and stay hungry.”
Love scored a team-high 25 points off the bench, including hitting five 3s, to go with nine rebounds.
After trailing by as many as 12 in the first quarter, the Cavs took control in the second outscoring Milwaukee 39-22 to lead 65-57 at half before blowing it wide open in the third quarter. They pushed the lead to as many as 21 and the closest the Bucks got in the second half was 14.
“We knew the importance of this game,” Osman, who hit six 3s and finished with 23 points, said. “Obviously they’re world champions. They have a great team. We knew this was going to be a very tough game for us, but I think that we showed we’re a great team today.”
This isn’t a fluke either.
The Cavs aren’t getting fat off the NBA’s scrubs, although with the schedule softening up in the coming days and weeks, that opportunity will present itself. They’ve won 15 games against teams above .500 this season and Wednesday night was the 20th time they held the opposition under 100 points.
“It’s who we are,” Bickerstaff said. “We take on all challenges. We don’t run from anybody. We don’t back down. We give everybody our best shot.”
Bickerstaff’s bunch has won eight of nine overall to improve to 10-3 in January. They’ve also won 10 of 12 at home.
So what is the secret to their surprising success?
Chemistry.
“You can have all of the talent in the world and have poor chemistry and you’re going to underachieve every time. You can have less talent and more chemistry, and you’ll overachieve,” Bickerstaff said. “The beauty of it is you can't put numbers to it. You have to put time and care into it.”
Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 26 points, three Bucks scored more than 20 – Bobby Portis had 22 and Khris Middleton 21 – but Cleveland forced 19 turnovers and scored 31 points off them. Milwaukee’s bench got outscored 57-15.
Darius Garland avoided a scare with a minor back injury that sent him to the locker room following a reverse lay-in with his right hand that put the Cavs up 85-68 with 6:01 remaining in the third quarter before returning to finish with 19 points and seven assists.
Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Mobley had 16 points and seven rebounds. He also put Antetokounmpo on a poster late in the second quarter thanks to a beautiful no-look with the left-hand feed from Garland that he smashed home with authority while drawing a foul.
“The most impressive piece of it is that it seems to be somebody different all the time,” Bickerstaff said. “Cedi and Kevin come off the bench tonight with their shot-making and had that offensive barrage. Then we settled in defensively and kind of figured out what we were trying to do. Team effort is what it’s about.”