The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to match their best start in franchise history when they host the struggling Milwaukee Bucks on Monday in the second game of a home-and-home set.
The Cavs, the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference, improved to 7-0 after a dramatic 114-113 road win over the Bucks on Saturday. Donovan Mitchell hit a game-winning 19-footer with 0.3 seconds left.
A win on Monday would tie the Cavaliers’ 8-0 start from the 1976-77 season. That team, led by Austin Carr and coached by Bill Fitch, finished 43-39 before losing in the first round of the playoffs.
Saturday marked the fifth straight loss for the 1-5 Bucks, who are missing Khris Middleton due to an ankle injury.
Damian Lillard had a stellar game with 41 points, including 10 three-pointers, and nine assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo added 34 points and 16 rebounds, but Milwaukee’s bench was outscored 36-13 by Cleveland’s bench.
Sam Merrill provided a big lift for the Cavs off the bench, hitting 5 of 9 three-point attempts and scoring 17 points.
Antetokounmpo is second in the NBA in scoring (31.0 ppg) and tied for third in rebounding (12.3), while Lillard is averaging 26.2 points. After those two stars, the team’s third-leading scorer, Bobby Portis, averages just 11 points.
Everything seems to be clicking for the Cavaliers. They entered Sunday second in the NBA in scoring (123.1 ppg) and lead the league in field goal percentage (52.6).
Mitchell is averaging a team-high 24.4 points per game, while Darius Garland is second with 17.9 points per game and has yet to miss a free throw this season (12-for-12). Garland also leads the team in assists at 6.3 per game, while Jarrett Allen leads in rebounding with 11.1 per game.
Caris LeVert is off to a strong start this season, shooting 52.4 percent from three-point range and averaging 12 points per game off the bench.
