Brook Lopez, Jordan Nwora and Bucks bench mob key 113-98 victory over Cavaliers

The Milwaukee Bucks (11-3) returned to the win column with a 113-96 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum, sending the Cavs (8-6) to their fifth straight loss.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

Brook Lopez continues to carry a big load

Jrue Holiday likes to note how, once upon a time, Brook Lopez was the “head of the snake” of the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, a premier low-post scorer who made an all-star team and is still the Nets' franchise scoring leader. Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer acknowledged that since Lopez has been in Milwaukee, they have very rarely asked him to be that player but rather a three-point shooting floor spacer for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

On the last road trip, with Antetokounmpo ailing, the Bucks needed Lopez down low. He told the Journal Sentinel he enjoyed it, being able to flex a muscle he hadn’t in years.

On Wednesday Lopez moved back behind the three-point line and led the short-handed Bucks to a big win by going a season-best 7 for 9 from behind the three-point arc on his way to scoring a season-high 29 points.

"I've put the work in so the confidence is definitely there with the shot," Lopez said. "Obviously Giannis is so good, he's going to draw so much attention, so the rest of us just have to be ready when we're open. We're going to be open a lot because they load up so much -- every team loads him so much -- you just gotta be ready to be open, catch-and-shoot it. That's pretty much it. Be in that mindset, just let it fly."

Lopez was also 2 for 2 from the free throw line, pulled down five rebounds and blocked three shots. It helped offset a sluggish scoring night from Antetokounmpo (16 points on 6-of-18 shooting) and a measured Bobby Portis (10 points on 4-of-8 shooting) output.

Lopez has been the one constant of the Bucks regular starters since opening night, and a well rounded inside-out (or outside-in?) offensive game to go with all-defensive first team-level rim protection has been key to the Bucks' hot start.

Box score:Bucks 113, Cavaliers 98

Bucks bench steps up

Budenholzer played five of his six bench players in the first half, and the group of Jordan Nwora, George Hill, AJ Green, Serge Ibaka and Sandro Mamukelashvili combined for 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting (56.3%), including 5 of 12 from behind the three-point line. They also pulled down seven rebounds and handed out three assists, which was a much-needed effort for the Bucks to take a 61-60 halftime lead.

Antetokounmpo and Jevon Carter scored just six first-half points each while Portis had four and MarJon Beauchamp was held scoreless. Lopez led all Bucks players with 18 at the break.

"Jordan was just a huge punch off the bench, but then George was a little more aggressive tonight, AJ hits the one three – we had a little bit of confidence going into half being up and all those guys contributed to it," Budenholzer said. "Sandro, I thought Sandro gave us some free throws, a tough basket in the paint. Sandro really hasn't gotten a chance to play. AJ hasn't played. Both those guys stepped up with opportunities and helped us in the second quarter."

Nwora had felt his offensive game was out of sync to start the year, but he opened up hitting his first couple of three-pointers. Ibaka scored seven points on 3-of-3 shooting and Green saw his first action since having surgery to repair a broken nose on Nov. 1.

More:Milwaukee Bucks add 'Gathering Place' blue jerseys to 2022-23 uniform collection

"That's kind of what separates our group," Lopez said of the Bucks' bench. "So many people can say that (they're deep). It's just words, right? But we have an unassuming group and we just go out there and do it. It's who we are. We don't really talk a lot, we just go out there and we know what to do and how to perform."

The starters then took the cue and got more involved to open the second half, going on a 16-3 run to take a 77-63 lead and eventually push the margin to as many as 20.

Nwora had his best game of the season, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 5 for 9 from behind the three-point arc in 28 minutes.

"It meant a lot," Nwora said of his breakout game. "This past couple weeks for me obviously hasn't been easy. But, it's good seeing it fall tonight. I'm not going to lose confidence in myself just because of a couple bad weeks but I'm happy the shots fell tonight and we were able to get a win."

Pat Connaughton held out of game

A little over a week ago, Pat Connaughton expressed some frustration to the Journal Sentinel with how slow his recovery from a preseason right calf strain had been, but he was satiated by the fact the team was winning and that a slower pace now would lessen the chances of a recurrence later.

In Minnesota, the feeling was he might be back within seven to 10 days – and his return to practice came on Tuesday the 11^th day. He was upgraded to probable to play on Wednesday afternoon but was ultimately held out against the Cavaliers

“We’re hopeful, it’s just give him another day,” Budenholzer said. “Just kind of tested it today and more discussions, just don’t want to rush it. Just feel like giving a little more time was the wisest move.”

Five numbers

6: Players available off the bench for the Bucks on Wednesday. Three of those players – Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Mamukelashvili and Green – combined for 46 minutes prior to the game.

66: Combined points for Cavaliers stars Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. The trio did a lot of damage, but the Bucks managed to keep the rest of the squad in check, particularly sixth-man of the year candidate Kevin Love (5 points on 1-of-3 shooting).

"Every night there's stars on every team in the NBA, so stars are gonna get their stats, get their numbers," Nwora said. "If you can hold role players, not let them have a good night, it's good. We were able to do that tonight. We were locked into our scout. Everybody was focused. Obviously we're down a bunch of people so everybody's super locked in and we were able to get the job done tonight."

44.4: Bucks three-point shooting percentage when the starters were still in the game, one of the best showings of the year for the team.

"Sometimes guys just get hot, a team can get hot, everybody starts feeling good and they feed off of each other," Budenholzer said of the 16 threes the Bucks made. "Some of Brook's shots, they're deep, they're tough, and when he starts feeling it. I thought Jordan had some good looks and for those to go in is big for us. It certainly can be contagious and I think Brook got us started."

53-8: Bucks record in the Central Division since Budenholzer took over as head coach in 2018-19. It includes a 3-0 mark this season after Wednesday’s victory.

495: Career blocks as a Buck for Lopez, tying him with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for No. 7 in franchise history.

Play of the game is AJ Green’s first NBA points

There's only one first, and Bucks rookie AJ Green scored his first NBA basket early in the second quarter on a three-pointer.

Video of the game is the Bucks video explaining their “City Edition” Uniforms

Tip of the hat to artist Ammar Nsoroma.

Bucks injury report

• Joe Ingles (left ACL): Out

• Khris Middleton (left wrist): Out

• Wesley Matthews (right hamstring strain): Out

• Grayson Allen (right ankle sprain): Out

• Jrue Holiday (right ankle sprain): Out

• Pat Connaughton (right calf strain): Out

Who do the Bucks play next?

The Bucks hit the road to take on the Philadelphia 76ers at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers will be without James Harden, but Joel Embiid appears to be healthy and playing at a high level again. Milwaukee beat Philadelphia 90-88 in their season opener Oct. 20.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brook Lopez, Jordan Nwora and Bucks bench mob key 113-98 win over Cavs