3 Who Popped and 2 Who Flopped in Cavaliers' exhilarating win over the flailing Bucks

The Cleveland Cavaliers would have been forgiven for the loss.

They were on the second leg of a back-to-back, flying into Milwaukee to face a Bucks team that was desperate for a win. Damian Lillard proved himself hot throughout the game, hitting a total of 10 3-pointers (on 15 attempts) and Taurean Prince went 4-for-5 himself. With Cleveland starting 6-0, dropping a game to a team that needed the win a lot more than they did would not have been the end of the world.

Instead, the Cavaliers matched the Bucks step for step, punch for punch the entire game. When Lillard pulled up and nailed a difficult jumper to put the Bucks up by one point with just 10 seconds, remaining, Donovan "Spida" Mitchell responded with a shot of his own to stela back the victory, 114-113. The Bucks now have to board a flight to Cleveland at 1-5 for a rematch on Monday.

It was a team effort from the Cavaliers, with six players scoring double-digits and eight players logging at least 20 minutes. Let's look at which players popped and who "flopped" from an exhilarating game of basketball.

Donovan Mitchell Popped

We start with the obvious selection, as it is hard to hit the game-winning shot at essentially the buzzer and not receive your flowers. Donovan Mitchell was attacking the Bucks all night, taking a team-high 25 shots (no one else had more than 13 shot attempts) and scoring 30 points. He hit four 3-pointers to help save his efficiency, however, because he was just 7-for-17 from 2-point range against the length and size of the Bucks inside.

The Cavs needed someone to create offense, however, as Darius Garland was just 5-for-13 and Caris LeVert missed the game with a sore knee. Mitchell took on that mantle, and it led to the ultimate superhero moment at the end of the game. As the Cavs prepare for the rematch on Monday, it will be interesting to see how they try to get Mitchell free for better shot attempts.

Georges Niang Flopped

One of the reasons that the Cleveland Cavaliers are 7-0 is that Georges Niang has been an excellent rotation player thus far, with his floor-spacing ability at the 4 opening up space for the Cavaliers to attack inside. It should be noted that some of that gravity was certainly impacting the game in a positive way on Saturday night.

With that being said, Niang was clearly the weak spot for Cleveland. He was toasted again and again defensively; Damian Lillard was intentionally hunting him and then spinning him in circles by driving by him into the paint. When he would instead get matched up in the post on Giannis he lacked the size or athleticism to do anything more than merely stay in the frame.

Niang wasn't able to balance things out with a strong offensive performance, shooting 0-for-4 from 3-point range and 1-for-5 overall, with two turnovers canceling out his two assists. This was a difficult matchup for Niang and he wasn't able to overcome it.

Isaac Okoro Popped

It may seem like Isaac Okoro had a bad game, given that Damian Lillard went off for 41 points, and when Okoro was in the game he certainly didn't smother Lillard to the point that he couldn't get his shot off. Yet Lillard was continually trying to get Okoro switched off of him, preferring to attack Garland or Niang, and while his 3-pointer was dropping he also shot just 3-for-9 from 2-point range.

For all of his razzle-dazzle, Lillard was just +3 on the night, while Okoro was +12. Part of that was Okoro's defensive intensity, but much of it was his own hot shooting on offense. "Ice" shot 3-for-4 from deep and scored a much-needed 13 points off the bench. He also pulled down eight rebounds, playing with energy on both ends of the court.

Sure, Okoro would rather shut a player like Lillard down, but he forced difficult shots and contributed by making shots on the other end.

Jarrett Allen Flopped

Someone glancing at the box score may be surprised to see Jarrett Allen's name here; he shot 6-for-10 from the field for an efficient 15 points to go along with 12 rebounds, an assist and a steal. Allen certainly wasn't terrible, and he scored a couple of buckets late as the two teams went back-and-forth in the closing minutes.

The number that should stand out a bit more from Allen's line was the -12; that is, the Cavaliers were outscored by 12 points during Allen's 32 minutes. His counterpart on the Bucks, Brook Lopez, was a team-high +10 in his 34 minutes.

That was the matchup, and it is one that Jarrett Allen lost. For most of the night, when Brook Lopez was on the court, Jarrett Allen was largely neutralized. He could get nothing going inside against the mountain that is Lopez, and on offense he was sometimes out of position to protect the rim because he had to stay on Lopez out at the perimeter.

Where Allen scored his points was when Giannis Antetokounmpo or Bobby Portis were playing center and Lopez was off the court. During those minutes, however, Allen was bullied frequently by Antetokounmpo, unable to move his feet quite fast enough when Giannis either loped into the paint from the perimeter or when he made a move on the block. Allen didn't record a single block all game, and he was the victim of at least five shots by Antetokounmpo that he couldn't stop.

Sam Merrill Popped

Darius Garland shot 1-for-5 from 3-point range. Dean Wade went 2-for-7. Georges Niang was 0-for-4. Caris LeVert wasn't playing.

The Cavaliers needed someone to knock down 3-point shots in support of Donovan Mitchell, and Sam Merrill stepped up to the task. He played 22 minutes, enjoying increased run in the absence of LeVert, and shot 6-for-10 from the field, including 5-for-9 from long-range. He has found his niche in the league and is thriving, sprinting off of screens and handoffs for movement threes, and even flashing a new stepback move.

Merrill is obviously not a defensive ace, but he is surviving enough on that end for his elite shooting to matter. The Cavaliers have a roster with a lot of good players ready to fill a role, and when Merrill was called upon to increase his on Saturday night, he answered the bell.