The two best teams in the Central Division take the field in search of a victory on the shores of Lake Erie.
The Milwaukee Bucks travel to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night in the NBA. Milwaukee shocked the Sacramento Kings 143-142 in overtime at home in their previous game Tuesday night.
Cleveland cruised to an easy 109-91 home win over the Chicago Bulls in their previous game on Tuesday. In the all-time regular series between the teams, the Bucks hold a 131-99 advantage, including a 119-111 road win in the first meeting this season last December.
Bucks Continue to Dominate
The Bucks rank second in the league in offense averaging 125 points per game on the season. Milwaukee is ninth in rebounding, grabbing 44.4 boards per game, while the team ranks 11th by dishing out 26.8 assists per game.
The Bucks rank 24th in the league in defense, allowing 119.9 points per game this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee with 31.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game this season. Brook Lopez contributes 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while Damian Lillard, with 25.2 points and 6.8 assists, and Bobby Portis, with 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds, are good secondary scoring options.
Jae Crowder, Cameron Payne, Pat Connaughton, MarJon Beauchamp, AJ Green and Andre Jackson Jr. are also solid pieces in the mix.
Milwaukee ranks third in the league in field goal shooting percentage by shooting 50.2% as a team this season.
The Bucks are fifth in three-pointers per game by making 14.4 three-pointers per game and rank third in three-point shooting by hitting 38.3% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Good morning.#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/7dHxfhRxwM
- Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 17, 2024
Cavs Look to Dominate Central Division
Cleveland won its fifth straight game by beating Chicago at home in their previous meeting. The Cavaliers improved to 23-15 on the season and moved into third place in the Central Division, four games behind the first-place Bucks.
They were in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, seven games behind the first-place Boston Celtics and were one game ahead of the New York Knicks in terms of record to stay in a guaranteed playoff position.
Against Chicago, Cleveland took an early 8-0 lead and led by 19 points after the first quarter.
The Cavaliers were up by 14 at halftime, down by three after three quarters and actually down 81-80 with 10:01 remaining. Cleveland regrouped, scoring 10 straight points to take a 90-81 lead with 8:07 to play and then won the game.
The Cavaliers shot 41.1% from the field, including 20-of-57 from the three-point line, and held a 48-43 advantage on the boards in the game.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 34 points and seven assists in the win. The Cavaliers come into this game ranked 21st in the league in offense by scoring an average of 113.1 points per game this season.
Cleveland ranks eighth in rebounding by grabbing 44.9 boards per game and ranks 13th in assists by dishing out 26.4 assists per game this year.
The Cavaliers rank third in the league in defense by allowing an average of 110.7 points per game this season.
Donovan Mitchell leads in the scoring department for Cleveland, as he averages 28.1 points and 5.8 assists per night on the year. Evan Mobley, with 16 points and 10.5 boards, as well as Darius Garland, with 20.7 points and 5.9 assists, are solid secondary options.
