Milwaukee Bucks faced a bit of a challenge on Monday night. They stared down Cleveland Cavaliers coming off a home loss on Saturday night to Chicago Bulls, and LeBron James coming back from illness over the weekend. Bucks also had the back-to-back after a matinee with Phoenix Suns, so this wasn’t going to be easy. This proved to be true as Cleveland pulled away in the final few minutes of the game to win the season series with a 102-95 victory.

Player of the Game: Malcolm Brogdon (Bucks) – Once again, Malcolm Brogdon had himself a basketball game. Brogdon had 20 points with five assists and three made deep treys. He continues to shine with Bucks first and second teams. It doesn’t matter who he goes up against, Brogdon shows he belongs with the starters. He’s a key part of the future, and the sooner Jason Kidd gives him the keys to the car, the better the rest of this season is going to be.

(Not) Player of the Game: Matthew Dellavedova (Bucks) – I hate to beat a dead horse. I hate to keep telling you how bad Delly is playing right now, but he’s a bigger hot mess than Tom Schwartz in this week’s Vanderpump Rules. Here’s how his second half started for the former NBA champion… 3-for-22. He’s missed 19 fucking shots out of 22 attempts in the last three games. That percentage is 13 percent. He’s missed 11 straight threes to go along with it. And for the finale, he’s shooting 31 percent from three for the month. Any more questions?

Player of the Game: Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers) – You could easily give it to Bron, but Kyrie pulled out the finisher in the middle of the fourth with five straight points. He finished with 25 points, nine assists and four rebounds. He continues to be a great player for Cleveland. LeBron and Kyrie can hold the water until Kevin Love comes back.

Positive: Bucks hung tough – Moral victories suck, and I’m tired of giving them to Milwaukee this season. It’s been a constant theme. That said, Michael Beasley’s injury did not shake them. Giannis Antetokounmpo did not get into double-digits, and still, Milwaukee had a chance to win this basketball game halfway through the fourth quarter. It’s an amazing effort for this team.

Negative: Cavs had a good Giannis playbook – You have to give Tyronn Lue credit for figuring out how to play Giannis Antetokounmpo after him going off against them for three straight games this season. Am I concerned that other teams might try to apply the same? Not really. Milwaukee played a guard-heavy offense with Brogdon and Delly both playing 31 minutes. Giannis didn’t touch the ball enough which is a problem, and he seemed out of rhythm. If this happens again, it’s worth monitoring.

Next Up: Bucks head home to face off with Denver. Both of these teams played a very exciting game, and Milwaukee came all the way back from a 17-point deficit. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double in that one, but he’s been off since the Mason Plumlee trade. This should be a fun one at the Bradley Center.

Charlie.