What the Cleveland Cavaliers did to win home opener against Milwaukee Bucks

There's always a real magic to winning through the power of friendship.

The Cleveland Cavaliers looked like far more than the sum of their parts when they claimed a 118-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in their home opener on Sunday.

Forward De'Andre Hunter returned to the starting five after missing the team's first two matchups, where he would notch 16 points and four rebounds. Guard Sam Merrill, a recent hero and near-superhuman shooter for the Cavs, would continue his stellar shooting streak as he added 17 points on a 44.4% clip from beyond the arc.

While the Bucks were able to get the first points on the board with a mid-range shot from Gary Trent Jr., Cleveland struck right back with easy looks inside. Neither side could seem to get it going from the perimeter early on.

Merrill, who has been nothing short of incredible from the three-point line in his first two games, made the Cavs' only two buckets from the arc in the first quarter. The Bucks started to pick up the pace by quarter's end, with a trio of buckets splashed home off seven tries.

Milwaukee ended the night with 13 makes on 33 shots. Cleveland lagged behind with a 30% clip, a stark difference from the success they found from beyond the arc in their first two games.

Oct. 26, 2025; Cleveland Cavaliers v. Milwaukee Bucks. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images — Oct 26, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) defends Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) during the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Though Cavs big Evan Mobley still found his moments from close range, the battle between him and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo would end in the Milwaukee star's favor.

He'd end the night with 40 points and 14 rebounds as he continued to be a major threat when driving to the hoop. Antetokounmpo averaged just over 32 points per game in three matchups with the Cavs last season using the same game plan of steamrolling his way to the basket, which continued as he made things look easy against Cleveland on Sunday. Guard A.J. Green, who is on a Merrillesque streak of his own for the Bucks, tacked on 20 points as he hit four of his seven tries from long range.

The usual human highlight reel of Donovan Mitchell took a hit as he struggled to get hot in the first half.

A team scoring effort, along with another solid night for Merrill, picked up the slack and kept the Cavs on pace with a Bucks team that ranked fifth in the league in points per game before Sunday. Mitchell would add three rebounds and four assists as he still found ways to feed rollers and connect on more routine passes.

He and Mobley would eventually find their footing, starting with a few makes from the free throw line, but it would ultimately be the rest of the cast who would keep things on track in the crucial win against a division rival. The duo would end the game with a combined 47 points.

Still, it wouldn't be a Cavs game if Cleveland didn't inadvertently make things more interesting.

The Cavs again started to let things slip late in the third, when a once-monumental lead was shaved down to just a few points as Antetokounmpo and Green took the wheel for Milwaukee.

Cleveland nearly let what looked to be a routine win over the Brooklyn Nets slip through its fingers in a 131-124 victory at the Barclays Center, but narrowly escaped an upset with game-saving free throws. While the Bucks came incredibly close, the Cavs would end up pulling away for good off a number of shots in the clutch.

The Cavs will take on the Detroit Pistons at 7 p.m. on Monday in Little Caesars Arena. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.