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On his 27th birthday, Giannis balls out.
On his birthday, Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 12 rebound as the Bucks defeated the Cavs. 1:14
The time is 11:18 PM.
On his 27th birthday, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo came back from a two-game absence and scored 27 points to help the Brewers defeat the Cleveland Indians.
The two-time Most Valuable Player made all three of his 3-point attempts and also had a double-double in his return from a calf injury as the Milwaukee Bucks won for the 10th time in 11 games. He had 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Antetokounmpo went 6 of 7 on free throws and said that the guys are playing with confidence. We're protecting each other. We're in a very good spot.
Milwaukee played two games without Antetokounmpo, losing at Toronto and winning at home against Miami.
The Bucks broke a 29all tie with seven straight points early in the second quarter and stayed ahead the rest of the way, despite Cleveland making them work for it.
The margin was two in the fourth quarter after the Cavaliers were down by 13 in the first quarter. Cedi Osman missed a 3-point attempt with 6:14 left that would have given Cleveland a lead.
Bobby Portis got the rebound from Osman's shot. Jrue Holiday hit a 3-pointer on the other end to extend the Bucks' lead to 101-96.
It didn't fall below five the rest of the way.
"I thought that pass and that shot was the biggest swing because it was hanging there for a while,'' Budenholzer said. We needed a play from someone.
Holiday had 20 points and 8 assists. He provided 21 points and eight assists. Portis had 16 rebound and 10 points.
When Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Holiday are in the lineup, the Bucks are perfect.
Allen was 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 Kevin Love and Evan Mobley both scored 12.
The four-game winning streak was snapped by a loss to Utah the night before. They still saw reason for encouragement despite the fact that they dropped each of the past two games.
Allen said they were going to fight until the end. That's the main thing I learned about this team. We're going to fight till the end no matter how we start the game or who's in front of us. We came out flat in the last two games. We came back and tried to stay in the game, even though we could have easily given it up.
Milwaukee has beaten the Cleveland team eight times in a row. Budenholzer has a 43-4 record against Central Division opponents.
The Associated Press contributed to the story.
