"He gives us that real inside presence along with his ability to shoot the ball from the outside," coach Larry Drew, standing in for Lue, said. "More than anything, I think we've really missed being able to go to someone else inside other than LeBron." But as so often for Cleveland, James was the real difference maker. He scored 17 of his 40 points in the third quarter as the Cavaliers took control. James added 12 rebounds and 10 assists -- the 71st triple-double of his career -- as Cleveland won for the third time in their last four games. Cleveland led by 17 points with less than five minutes to play and weathered a 14-3 Milwaukee scoring run that trimmed the deficit to six.

But James never relented. With 1:12 remaining he grabbed a rebound and raced the length of the court for a dunk. Cleveland's Jordan Clarkson added two free throws to push the lead to 121-113, the Cavs making five of six from the foul line in the last 36.3 seconds to seal the win. Two-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks, posting his 23rd 30-point game of the season with 37 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Cleveland, trying to get back to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight year, maintained their hold on third place in the Eastern Conference.

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The Indiana Pacers were just half a game behind Cleveland after a 110-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Trailing by two points at halftime, the Pacers out-scored the Lakers by 14 points in the third quarter to snap a two-game skid and strengthen their position in the tightly bunched East. Five Pacers players scored in double figures, led by Myles Turner's 21. Victor Oladipo added 20 -- including an impressive put-back dunk that was part of Indiana's third-quarter surge. "They were kind of cutting us in transition a little bit and we did a great job of slowing that down," Oladipo said of the Pacers' second-half adjustments. "In the second half, I think we did a great job of getting stops and defending at a high level."

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