Career night for Evan Mobley push Cavaliers over Bucks

Evan Mobley erupts as Cavs even series with Bucks

The Cleveland Cavaliers leaned on rising star Evan Mobley’s career night to complete a 114-102 victory at home against division rivals Milwaukee Bucks. With the bounce-back win, the Cavs are now 20-5 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and 29-19 overall.

Mobley scored a career-best 38 points to lead all scorers in the game while shooting 70 percent from the field and finishing with nine rebounds and three assists to lead the Cavaliers past the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee team, who refused to back down until the final minutes.

Darius Garland also had 21 points, 10 assists, and two steals as superstar guard Donovan Mitchell (groin) remained out for a third consecutive game.

Less than 24 hours from an embarrassing loss to the star-less Golden State Warriors, the young Cavs team found a way to play 48 minutes with the foot firmly on the pedal, finally breaking away in the final period after a wholly nip-and-tuck affair.

Cleveland Cavaliers yet to find consistency

Caris LeVert returned to the starting lineup and chipped in with 13 markers, while Cedi Osman matched that total off the bench. Big man Jarrett Allen was happy to take a backseat to allow his frontcourt partner to shine but still had a handy 12-point effort while holding his own on defense.

Not having Mitchell certainly put Cleveland on the back foot in each game they played, but breakout games like Evan Mobley’s helped push them to stay competitive, although with varied end results.

With Ricky Rubio back in action, and spot-starter Dean Wade returning to play–albeit in a limited effort–the Cavs are expected to start looking like the team many envisioned them to be. While most of the load will remain firmly on the shoulders of All-Stars Mitchell and Garland, any form of consistency will rely on having every man on deck.

Even with the big win, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain stuck in fifth yet still well within striking distance of chasing a top-three spot in the uber-competitive Eastern Conference, being only a game behind the third-placed Bucks. They will get a few days of much-needed rest before traveling to face the New York Knicks at the Mecca of Basketball on January 24th.