THE Milwaukee Bucks overcame an early deficit to shred the Cleveland Cavaliers’s interior defense in the second half, handing the Cavs just their third loss of the season, a 118-101 decision at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

    Cleveland came into the contest having won three of its last four in Milwaukee, and the story went according to script early — with the Cavaliers jumping out to a two touchdown lead late in the first quarter.

    But the Bucks closed the period on a 10-0 run and things spiraled from there. And by the three-minute mark of the third quarter, the roles were reversed, with the Wine and Gold trailing by 14. At that point, Tyronn Lue had seen enough — substituting his entire starting five as the Bucks had their way offensively. His starters returned to the game early in the fourth, but the Bucks were well into their rhythm at that point, and by the midway point of the fourth, Lue emptied his bench for the second and final time.

    LeBron James led Cleveland with 22 points to go with four boards and four assists – but he also committed a game-high seven turnovers, four of which, by his own admission, were unforced.

    Kyrie Irving hit the 20-point mark for the 32 time in his last 37 outings finishing with 20 points on 5-for-12 shooting, including 2-of-5 from long range, to go with three assists and a steal.

    The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Kevin Love, doubled-up for the 10th time in his last 11 outings – finishing with 13 points and a game-high 13 boards in the loss.

    But neither the Big Three nor any other member of the Wine and Gold had an answer for the Greek Freak — Giannis Antetokounmpo — who tied a career-high with 34 points, going 13-of-19 from the floor (mostly from close-range) and adding 12 boards, five assists, five steals and a pair of blocked shots.

    Jabari Parker followed up with 18 points for Milwaukee, but it was their bench that did most of the damage aside from Giannis, combining for 48 points — 17 by Michael Beasley — in the win.

    On the night, the Bucks shot 54 percent from the floor, but the team that gets over 50 percent of its baskets on layups and dunks did exactly that Tuesday night — doubling Cleveland’s production in the paint, 68-34.

    As important as the Bucks’ late run to end the first quarter was, it was their energy out of the halftime locker room that sealed the Cavs’ fate Tuesday.

    Trailing by four at the break, James and Kevin Love hit back-to-back triples to start the second half and tie the affair at 65-apiece with 8:01 to play in the period. But things escalated quickly from there.

    Over the next five minutes, the Bucks would go on a 13-2 run, prompting Coach Lue to substitute his entire lineup. Things didn’t get better from there, with Milwaukee closing the quarter on a 14-7 burst to put the Cavaliers squarely behind the 8-ball to start the fourth.

    (SD-Agencies)