Cleveland @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 29, 2019 ) Milwaukee 119, Cleveland 110

Giannis Antetokounmpo showed no ill effects from a quad injury that caused him to miss his first game of the season, and the Milwaukee Bucks don't seem to be impacted by much of anything right now. The Bucks will put their 17-game winning streak on the line when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

After sitting out a 15-point win over New Orleans on Wednesday at home Wednesday night, Antetokounmpo returned to post 37 points in just 27 minutes of a 127-114 triumph at Memphis on Friday. Milwaukee's run is the second-longest in franchise history, three behind the team record set during the 1970-71 season, and it also has won 12 in a row at home as it enters a three-game stay at Fiserv Forum that culminates in a matchup with the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavaliers ended an eight-game losing streak with a 117-109 win at San Antonio in overtime on Thursday. Kevin Love had 30 points and 17 rebounds, and the veteran forward hit a 3-pointer in the waning moments of regulation to help Cleveland pick up its first road win since Nov. 10.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cleveland), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (6-19): Love was held to single digits in five of six games before scoring 17 points against Houston on Wednesday and then breaking out for his season-high 30 at San Antonio, where he finally sensed his team enjoying itself. "Hell, yeah," Love told reporters when asked about having fun. "I think that's what is lost sometimes. It's human nature to feel that way after the losses pile up or you fall on hard times, but I think it's a really long season. You have to find some bright spots and know at the end of the day that if you really love this game, there is going to be ups and downs." Point guard Collin Sexton had reason to smile as well after pouring in 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting.

ABOUT THE BUCKS (23-3): Khris Middleton helped out Antetokounmpo with 26 points Friday night as Milwaukee closed the game with a 37-point fourth quarter. The All-Star forward hit 10-of-19 shots to finish at 50 percent or better from the floor for the eighth time in his last nine games. "Just the work I'm putting in with the coaches," Middleton told Fox Sports Wisconsin when asked about his own hot stretch. "My teammates, they made the game easy for me."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cavaliers rookie SG Dylan Windler, who has yet to play this season due to a stress reaction in his left leg, has had a setback in his recovery and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

2. Antetokounmpo is shooting 46.4 percent from long distance in December after hitting 31 percent of his 3-point tries in November and 14.3 percent in October.

3. Milwaukee has won three straight meetings and five of the last six.

PREDICTION: Bucks 117, Cavaliers 106