CLEVELAND – Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Darius Garland added 16 and the Cleveland Cavaliers went 15-1 at home with a 124-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, their first win since winning the NBA Cups played.

Cleveland is 3-0 this season against Milwaukee, which was without All-Star guard Damian Lillard because of a calf strain.

Evan Mobley scored 15 points and Cleveland made 20 three-pointers, improving its league-best record to 24-4.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 14 rebounds for the Bucks, who may need a few more days to shake off their collective hangover after Tuesday’s Cup victory in Las Vegas.

With Lillard out, the Bucks were without their second-best player and 25.7 points per game. Milwaukee’s starting guards – Andre Jackson Jr. and AJ Green – combined for 0 of 9 goals.

Takeaways

Bucks: Coach Doc Rivers doesn’t believe Lillard’s injury is “serious” and the team is cautious. … Rivers said it was “weird” to win a tournament and resume play. The turnaround didn’t give Milwaukee’s players much time to recover. Rivers hopes the league will address the narrow 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 three-pointer, Caris LeVert dropped a layup and then deflected Milwaukee’s incoming pass. The ball found its way to Mitchell, who sank a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in the third quarter, bringing the Cavs to 27 points.

Key statistics

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.

Next

The Bucks host Washington on Saturday. It’s also a back-to-back for the Cavaliers hosting Philadelphia.

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