The Eastern Conference’s top team will be at home when the Cleveland Cavaliers (50-20) welcome the Milwaukee Bucks (30-41) to the Quicken Loans Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 23 and can be seen on FxO.
The Cavaliers enter this game hoping for similar success after dismantling the Nuggets 124-91 on Monday. Cleveland received a boost from LeBron James, who finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. This gave him his second triple-double of the year. The Bucks, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their close 92-91 loss against the Pistons on Monday. Milwaukee still lost despite the best efforts of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who recorded his 19th double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo has been hot for the Bucks, averaging 18.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.4 blocks over the past five games.
Both teams have won a game in the season series. The Cavaliers had the upper hand in the most recent game, a 115-100 win. Antetokounmpo was the top overall scorer in the game with 33 points.
Notes
In its last game, Cleveland won by a 33-point margin. Milwaukee is 2-11 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Cleveland has a 12-3 record in blowouts.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 28-9 on the season. When the Bucks score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 10-30.
The Cavaliers have a 22-11 record when they allow at least 100 points. The Bucks have also performed well when they reach the century mark with a record of 20-11 in such games.
The Bucks have a defensive rating of 105.9 (ranked 20th). The Cavaliers rank fourth for their offensive rating of 108.7.
Cleveland averages fewer possessions per game than Milwaukee, with 95.6 compared to 96.2. However, the Cavaliers score an average of 1.087 points per possession, more than the 1.030 that the Bucks score.
Cleveland is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 52.3% (ranked fourth in the NBA). Milwaukee is an abysmal 5-23 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Cleveland Cavaliers attempt 28.0 three pointers per game this season, while the Milwaukee Bucks attempt 15.0 per game. When they register 25 or more three point attempts in a game, Cleveland is a solid 35-16 while Milwaukee is winless (0-3).
The Cleveland Cavaliers, with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.75, rank eighth in the NBA. The Milwaukee Bucks have a lower A/TO (1.58), ranking 16th.
Milwaukee ranks 26th in rebounds per game with 41.7, while Cleveland ranks eighth with 44.5.
Cleveland is ranked 10th in defensive rebounds, while Milwaukee ranks 14th in offensive rebounds.
On average, the Bucks force a turnover rate of 15.5%, ranked sixth in the NBA. When the Cavaliers turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 14-8 record.
