Dribbles: Cavs Reaffirm What We Knew With Win Over Bucks. Namely, They’re for Real

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ impressive 114-106 home win over the Bucks on Wednesday. …

1. You can call it a statement win. You can break out the old line about it being a “measuring stick.” You can say the Bucks got the first two of these matchups, so for the Cavs, it was a “must-win.”

2. Those are all at least partially true. At least, they are if you like to hype things up a bit. And if you do, hey, that’s your right.

3. But this mostly was about the Cavs (22-11) just wanting to keep a good thing going against a high-quality opponent. Now, they’ve won five straight overall. Now, they’re 16-2 at home. (Or for those keeping score at home, 16-0 at home when Donovan Mitchell plays.) And now, you can consider the Cavs a true Eastern Conference threat.

4. Granted, some of you did already. That’s OK. You should have. But the Cavs didn’t just beat the Bucks, who came to town with league MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and the best record in the East. The Cavs also showed growth.

5. If you remember, they built a massive first-quarter lead. Then they kinda, sorta let it slip away before halftime. Then, they built it back up in the third quarter. Then they kinda, sorta let it slip away in the fourth.

6. But when the pressure was on, it was the Cavs who made the plays. Whether it be Mitchell or Darius Garland on offense, or Jarrett Allen on defense, when the Cavs needed a bucket or stop … they got it.

7. While they are having a fine season overall, that’s the type of thing that has haunted them in some games. They have let some leads evaporate. They have started slow, then failed to finish strong. So when the Bucks (22-9) started to come on strong for stretches, a lot of people may have wondered when the Cavs would collapse.

8. Never happened. Not on this night. 

9. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff to reporters on the win: “I thought we held our poise. They’re a championship team. They’re not gonna give in, they’re gonna make their runs. In the past, we haven’t been able to sustain their runs. Tonight, I think, was a great step for us.”

10. Mitchell again was dynamite, finishing with 36 points, including 15 in the third, when the Cavs built their 24-point lead. Garland added 23 and Allen had 19.

11. Also important was Mitchell’s free-throw performance in the final 12 minutes, as he went 9-of-9 from the line. He finished 15-of-16 on free throws overall. 

12. Meanwhile, Allen was 8-of-10 from the field and offered his usual major dose of defensive resistance. It’s true that Antetokounmpo erupted for 45, but the Bucks’ last gasps proved to be difficult — and Allen’s presence and effort were big reasons why.

13. Bickerstaff on Allen: “He can do everything on (the defensive) end of the floor. He’s an elite rim-protector, he’s a shot-blocker, he can defend the pick-and-roll, he can switch and guard … it’s his ability to do so many different things. And that goes back to the trust the guys have in him. They know he’s gonna be there to have their back.”

14. By the way, last time the Cavs started 16-2 at home, they won the championship (2015-16).

15. So, was this win a big deal? Well, yeah, probably — at least as far as games in December go. But not just because the Cavs defeated a bona fide title-contender. After all, they beat the Celtics twice already.

16. More so, this was just the Cavs showing that when they’re locked in and playing together, well, they have some serious potential to make some serious noise.

17. We probably already knew that, but this current homestand, and this win in particular, sure has helped reaffirm it.