The Cavaliers earned their NBA-best record of 23-4 by playing the softest schedule in the league through 27 games, according to powerrankingsguru.com. Nothing about their opponent Dec. 20 was soft. The Bucks stormed into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse fresh off beating Oklahoma City for the NBA Cup on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas. They had won eight of their last 10 and three straight games, but the Cavs used stifling defense and balanced scoring to send the Bucks away on the short end of a 124-101 final score. The Cavs are 3-0 vs. the Bucks this season. All five Cavaliers starters — Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland — finished in double figures. Mitchell led the way with 27 points. Eight Cavaliers hit at least one 3-pointer. Dean Wade and Evan Mobley each scored 15 points. Darius Garland scored 16. Wade four of five three-point attempts and played solid defense during the 21 minutes he was on the floor. “You have the defense, and if he makes 3s like that — can I say this? — you’re like unstoppable,” Coach Kenny Atkinson said. “You don’t find many guys in the league that can defend like him. You saw him stand up Giannis in the first half and take it (the ball) from him.” Evan Mobley shoots as Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, right, defends Dec. 20. (Sue Ogrocki – The Associated Press) Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 33 points and 14 rebounds, but he also turned the ball over five times. Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points Friday night, but the Cavaliers made him earn them, says Evan Mobley. Giannis turned the ball over five times. #Cavaliers 124, #Bucks 101. pic.twitter.com/IPGIq984od — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) December 21, 2024 The Cavs led, 29-20, after one quarter and scored 40 points in the second quarter to open a 69-51 halftime lead. The Cavs played 17 games in 29 days to start the season, which helped them get into a rhythm for their franchise-best 15-0 start. But since losing, 122-113, to the Heat in Miami on Dec. 8, they played only twice, beating the Wizards, 115-105, at home Dec. 13 and the Nets in Brooklyn, 130-101, on Dec. 16. “I liked (the break) because we could practice,” Atkinson said before facing the Bucks. “I think the players would rather play every other night.” Mobley, for one, was fine with the three-day break, “Everyone had fresh legs coming in,” Mobley said in the locker room after the game. “We followed the game plan. We packed the paint and tried to make it tough on (Antetokounmpo) and make it tough on the rest of the players. “We had two (wins) early on them and one right after they won the Cup, so this was definitely a big one on our list.” The Wizards and Nets are a combined 15-37. The Cavs were choppy on the offensive end of the floor at the start of their game with the Bucks, but once they got into a flow they were like a tidal wave. The game marked the return of Max Strus, who missed the first 27 games recovering from a sprained ankle. He entered the game off the bench with 7:17 left in the first quarter to cheers from the FieldHouse crowd. Coach Kenny Atkinson praises Dean Wade for hitting 4 3s, the way the #Cavaliers defended and Max Strus's energy in his season debut after the Cavs beat the #Bucks, 124-101, Friday night. pic.twitter.com/I79b3O4fIa — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) December 21, 2024 Strus was scoreless until he buried a 27-foot shot with 6:10 left in the third quarter for an 84-60 lead, but before then he reminded fans how tough he is. A split-second after the first quarter ended, he jumped and fell on Milwaukee guard Gary Trent Jr. as Trent tried to beat the buzzer with a shot near midcourt. The play went to an official review. Strus was not called for a foul when it was determined Trent shot the ball after the quarter ended. With 5:10 left in the third quarter, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer to trim the Cavs’ lead to 84-65. Atkinson called a timeout. Middleton’s basket followed a turnover on a bad pass by Caris LeVert. The Bucks never really threatened, but the Cavs did not take their foot off the gas. LeVert scored on a driving layup with eight seconds left in the third quarter and then dived to the floor to steal a pass from the Bucks’ Bobby Portis under the Cavs basket. LeVert slapped the ball to Georges Niang, Niang passed it to Mitchell, and Mitchell connected from 26 feet for a 103-76 lead at the end of three quarters. THE SCORE Cavaliers 124, Bucks 101