The Cleveland Cavaliers remained perfect in the preseason after scoring a 106-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Playing without LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, newly-acquired superstar Kevin Love scored 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-7 clip from beyond the arc, while also tallying four rebounds and two assists.
Love, who was acquired by the Cavaliers in a blockbuster deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves in August, admitted before the match that he was hesitant in his first two games, but his teammates told him to be himself, which gave him confidence to do his thing on the hardcourt.
"I'm comfortable and just not trying to, I guess, fit in so much," Love said after the match via ESPN. "I had a talk with the guys on the plane ride over (to Brazil) and also at different practices off the floor and they told me to fit out. Just be myself. I kind of laughed and smirked at that. Off the court, I never have any problems with that."
Dion Waiters also had an outstanding night for the Cavaliers as he finished with 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field, while Shawn Marion, who started in place of James, ended up with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Rookie forward Jabari Parker, the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, led the Bucks with 18 points, while Jared Dudley chipped in 15 points, converting all five attempts from the three-point region.
Irving missed the game due to an ankle injury that also forced him to miss their game against the Miami Heat in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday, while James was rested for precautionary measure.
Love said after the match that he is hoping that both James and Irving will be available soon, saying that they need to build chemistry moving forward if they want to reach their goals this season.
"It will take time, but in our conversations that we had as a unit and as a group not only just us three, we're all unselfish by nature," Love said. "We all affect the game in different ways because obviously we play different positions. So, as Bron mentioned, this is going to be Kyrie's show because he has the ball in his hands so much."
Complete box scores and highlights of the Cavaliers-Bucks match are available on this link.
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