Eastern Conference Recaps, Jan. 17: Donovan Mitchell, Georges Niang Lead The Cleveland Cavaliers Past Milwaukee

The Cavaliers secure their sixth consecutive win

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA and they continue to build on.

They used a great scoring performance by Donovan Mitchell to grab a 135-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, good for their sixth straight victory. Mitchell finished the game with 31 points, scoring all of them in the first three quarters while sitting out the fourth. It also marked his 13th game this season with 30-plus points.

Jarrett Allen helped out with 21 points, his seventh game this season with 20 or more points. He also grabbed 13 rebounds. Georges Niang showed up big off the bench as he scored a career-high 33 points.

While Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined with a bruised right shoulder, Damian Lillard led the Bucks with 17 points. However, he got help from the bench as Bobby Portis dropped 16 points and Jae Crowder 15.

NEXT CAVALIERS GAME: Jan. 20 at Atlanta
NEXT BUCKS GAME: Jan. 20 at Detroit

OTHER NOTES:

-Just hours after the Toronto Raptors traded Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers, they grabbed a blowout victory against the Miami Heat.

After being sidelined a game due to an illness, Gary Trent got his sixth start of the season. He guided the Raptors with a season-high 28 points, including eight 3-pointers. The 3-point count was the most he had since Jan. 31, 2022 when he hit nine against the Atlanta Hawks.

RJ Barrett contributed with 26 points and eight rebounds while Scottie Barnes had 20 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Immanuel Quickley scored 17 points.

As for the Heat, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro all scored 16 points each. Duncan Robinson led all reserves with 14 points.

NEXT RAPTORS GAME: Jan. 18 vs. Chicago
NEXT HEAT GAME: Jan. 19 vs. Atlanta

-It seems as if Dejounte Murray has been listening to the trade rumors lately.

He dropped 26 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a win over the Orlando Magic but it was at the end of the game when he came up big. With five seconds remaining in the game, he came down the court with the ball and hit a buzzer-beating pullup jump shot over Markelle Fultz to lock in the victory.

“It’s a make or miss league,” Murray said. “I always feel like I'm going to make my next shot.”

Trae Young finished with 18 points and 12 assists while Clint Capela had 12 points. Onyeka Okongwu led the bench with 15 points.

As for the Magic, Paolo Banchero carried them with 26 points, his fourth straight 20-point game. Jalen Suggs contributed with 16 points while Wendell Carter gave 18 off the bench.

NEXT HAWKS GAME: Jan. 19 at Miami
NEXT MAGIC GAME: Jan. 19 vs. Philadelphia

-The duo of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson came together to carry the New York Knicks to a 109-94 win against the Houston Rockets. Randle led the way with 31 points while Brunson had 30. They now have the most 30-point games by a Knicks duo since 1965.

After scoring in single-figure points the last two games, Fred VanVleet scored 24 to lead the Rockets while dishing out 12 assists. Alperen Sengun chipped in with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Jalen Green dropped 15 points.

NEXT KNICKS GAME: Jan. 18 vs. Washington
NEXT ROCKETS GAME: Jan. 20 vs. Utah

-Despite missing Derrick White (ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (knee), the Boston Celtics still managed to hand the San Antonio Spurs a huge 117-98 loss.

Jayson Tatum scored 24 points for the Celtics while Jrue Holiday gave 22, his fifth 20-point game this season. Jaylen Brown chalked up 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Spurs only had two players score in double-figures. Victor Wembanyama had 27 points to guide them and Devin Vassell 21.

NEXT CELTICS GAME: Jan. 19 vs. Denver
NEXT SPURS GAME: Jan. 19 at Charlotte

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Fansided’s “Wiz of Awes”. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson and Instagram @ckenzynelson