The Cleveland Cavaliers came away with a hard-earned road victory on Tuesday night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108 in the first match of a home-and-home back-to-back set.
The Cavs were without Kevin Love, who missed the game due to a knee-contusion from Saturday’s bout with the Lakers, bumping Richard Jefferson up to the starting lineup.
LeBron James picked up the majority of the slack, scoring 34 points and hitting a season-high five 3-pointers on nine attempts.
James passed Moses Malone to move into 8th place on the NBA all-time scoring list (27,809). He also grabbed 12 rebounds and passed for seven assists.
Kyrie Irving scored 28 points on the night, but more bench players stepped up, as J.R. Smith exited the game in the second quarter with a right thumb injury, causing players like Iman Shumpert and DeAndre Liggins to take on an even bigger share of the workload.
Liggins and Shumpert provided solid defense as they have throughout the season, but it was the 36-year-old Jefferson, who scored five of his eight total points in overtime to give the Cavs a much-needed lift.
Tristan Thompson (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Channing Frye (13 points) continued to play their roles exceptionally well, but our Role Player of the Game goes to RJ for stepping up in crunch time.
Milwaukee battled to the finish, proving to be a pesky team that brings its A-game against the defending champs.
Jabari Parker led the Bucks with 30 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25, another indication of what appears to a bright future in Milwaukee for years to come.
The Cavs (20-6) meet up with the Bucks (13-13) at The Q on Wednesday night in a game where Cleveland could be missing two of its starters, depending on how Love and Smith recover.
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