MILWAUKEE _ Giannis Antetokounmpo said the Milwaukee Bucks were close to knocking down the door.
On Tuesday night they smashed it down with an emphatic 118-101 rout of the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Antetokounmpo did his part with a career-high tying 34 points while adding 12 rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks.
Milwaukee (8-8) had come close in home losses to Golden State and Toronto, but this time they dominated the Cavaliers after trailing by 14 points in the first quarter.
Jabari Parker added 18 points and Michael Beasley had 17 for the Bucks, and Greg Monroe had 14 points and six rebounds in a bench role.
Milwaukee finished the third quarter on a 27-9 run to take control.
LeBron James was frustrated much of the night but led the Cavaliers (13-3) with 22 points. Kyrie Irving had 20 points and Kevin Love added 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Matthew Dellavedova, facing his former Cavaliers teammates for the first time, had seven assists and three points in 25 minutes.
The Cavaliers went nearly 6 minutes without a field goal in the third quarter after a 3-pointer by James tied the score at 65 with 8 minutes left.
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue substituted all five starters with 3:49 left in third after the Bucks had taken a 78-67 lead. Milwaukee outscored the Cavaliers in the quarter, 34-20, to grab a 92-74 lead.
Lue stuck with his subs _ Mike Dunleavy, Chris Andersen, James Jones, DeAndre Liggins and Jordan McRae _ to open the fourth quarter.
But one minute into the quarter, the Cavaliers starters re-entered the game.
Malcolm Brogdon silenced any ideas of a quick Cleveland comeback when he swished a pair of 3-pointers to give the Bucks a 98-79 lead. A triple by Jason Terry a few moments later made it 101-81 with 8:56 remaining.
Lue went back to his reserves for good with 6:03 left after Brogdon's layup gave the Bucks a 106-84 lead, their largest of the game.
Antetokounmpo tied his career high for points, set last season against the Chicago Bulls.
