Reigning NBA Champions, the Milwaukee Bucks, participated in what seemed to be a one-sided game against the Cleveland Cavaliers this past Wednesday, January 26, 2022. The Cavaliers quickly put last year’s champions to work before handing them an embarrassing 99-115 loss at the end of the fourth quarter, sending the Bucks back to Milwaukee with an updated 30-20 NBA season record. With this win, Cleveland has now propelled themselves ahead of the race by obtaining the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference, just one position above their previous opponents.
Containing a full roster of multiple superstar athletes, it is still unclear how Milwaukee plans on removing themselves from the serious slump they seem to be stuck in. However, Giannis Antetokounmpo still put on an impressive individual performance with his confident 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists, in an attempt to enhance his franchise’s positioning on the east coast. Bobby Portis and Khris Middleton would also obtain stand-out games as they both scored over 20-points for themselves during the course of the match: Middleton added 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists to his team’s stat sheet while Portis assisted with his solid 22 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist.
As a result of the Bucks clearly not having their head in the game, the Cavaliers took advantage of the moment and earned themselves a hard-fought win. Darius Garland facilitated the most throughout the game with his necessary 8 assists and 19 points while Jarett Allen did the most on the defensive end of the floor, obtaining a well-deserved double-double that consisted of 10 points and 10 rebounds. As the Cleveland Cavaliers come off this surprising victory over the 2020-2021 NBA Champions, they now prepare for their next obstacle against the Detroit Pistons this Sunday, January 30.