Tristan Thompson led with 17 points and Kyrie Irving scored 14, taking the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-87 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in a preseason game Tuesday night.
Mike Brown returned to the Cavs bench as head coach after he was fired following the 2009-10 season. He then went to the Lakers where he coached five games into the season before he was fired again.
The Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 14 points and shooting guard Stephen Graham led the team with 15 points.
Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova suffered a sprained right ankle in the second quarter and left the game for X-rays, which came back negative. He made 6 points in nine minutes. More testing is expected for Ilyasova in the coming week.
“I’ve twisted that ankle before, but never that bad,” said Ilyasova, who landed badly after getting tangled up with Cleveland’s C.J. Miles. “It really hurts when I step on it. I’ll get a lot of treatment and we’ll see, but it’s the first game and it’s really disappointing.”
The Bucks came close to winning without key players including Carlos Delfino, Zaza Pachulia and Ekpe Udoh, who are also sidelined because of injuries.
