It’s been three days since the Milwaukee Bucks dismantled the best-ranked defense in the NBA to win the NBA Cup. Giannis Antetokounmpo managed to run over the Thunder and his teammates benefitted immensely. However, the hangover of that win was quickly squashed. The Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 15-1 at home, beating the Bucks by 23 points tonight.

The Bucks were shorthanded. Damian Lillard, the most prolific scorer for Milwaukee against the top-seeded Cavs missed out due to a right calf strain. Still, even though the Greek Freak put up his usual dominant numbers, he felt Cleveland had the matchup advantage over them. And even though the Thunder have the better-ranked defense, Antetokounmpo claims Cleveland is a “harder” opponent to bypass.

“They’re bigger, they close the gaps better, they are a better rebounding team, they clog the paint. It’s harder. I know OKC was a great defensive team but the matchup wasn’t good for them. But here is a team that can match up against us so it’s definitely harder,” Giannis Antetokounmpo mentioned. 

It doesn’t necessarily mean the Thunder aren’t equipped with a great defense. However, they thrive of tenacity and a hounding perimeter defense. For Antetokounmpo in particular, he only had Isaiah Hartenstein as the distinguished center to go through to make something happen. On the other hand, in Cleveland, both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are elite defenders who can protect the paint and also be active at the perimeter.

For Milwaukee, they don’t have the size to counter the tandem with Brook Lopez having a relaxed role on offense. Thus far, the Bucks have lost all three games to the Cavaliers, tonight being the largest deficit following two single-digit losses. And the reason for that was their own mistakes which paved the way for the relentless Cavs.

Milwaukee Bucks fell to their own turnovers

Giannis Antetokounmpo was the sole player from the Milwaukee Bucks who generated a fluent offensive rhythm. He scored a game-high 33 points while shooting close to 60% once again. However, his counterparts couldn’t follow in his footsteps. The Bucks only made 10 threes tonight after splashing 17 against the Thunder.

The Cavaliers doubled their tally. However, that wasn’t their main advantage. Milwaukee committed 20 turnovers and only got 23 assists. The Cavs also recorded 15 turnovers but their ball movement was better with 30 assists for the game. The Bucks’ gameplan also frustrated Rivers who urged the team for organization.

“We got to move the ball more. You know we didn’t run a lot of stuff tonight. We got to get more organized. We don’t do that often but we have games like that and when that happens, we usually don’t win those games,” he said of his team.

With Damian Lillard, the game may have been closer. Milwaukee has significantly improved since their pathetic 2-8 start. Additionally, Dame averages 38.5 points and 8 assists against the Cavaliers this season. Without his ferocity, the Bucks couldn’t find another offensive pivot aside from Antetokounmpo.

For a team that has been hot over the stretch of 15 games, this is a game that highlighted a lot of their errors. With another game still in hand against Cleveland, the planning and execution need to be far better to beat a robust Cavaliers.