CLEVELAND -- As Mike Miller slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed toward the locker room door wearing a "God Loves Cleveland" T-shirt, a voice from the far corner stopped the Cavaliers' veteran swingman.
Miller didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
"My hero," LeBron James yelled.
Miller came off the bench and provided Cleveland with a much-needed spark in the second half Tuesday night, helping the Cavaliers to their fourth straight win, 111-108 over the young-and-hungry Milwaukee Bucks.
Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, Kevin Love had 27 and James finished with 26 points and 10 assists for the Cavs, who have quickly turned things around following a four-game losing streak. The "Big 3" combined for 81 points, but it was Miller, a 15-year veteran best known for his 3-point shooting, who made several big plays in the second half to help put away the Bucks.
Miller didn't play in Cleveland's previous three wins, but when coach David Blatt turned to him in the third quarter, the 34-year-old responded.
"We were in trouble and we had to do something," Blatt said. "Mike answered the call."
Miller made two 3-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and made a crucial block in 18 minutes -- all in the second half.
"He sort of stabilized us, gave the others confidence and that's what a veteran should do," Blatt said. "I gotta give him a lot of credit. He hasn't played in the last several games and we threw him into a very tough situation and he answered the call in a big way."
James, who won two titles with Miller in Miami, wasn't surprised.
"I've played with him for so long that I know exactly how he can be effective," James said. "He's going to be very important to our team."
Brandon Knight scored 24 and 19-year-old rookie Jabari Parker, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, had 22 points for Milwaukee.
The Cavs trailed 89-86 when Love hit a tying 3-pointer with 4:44 left. Milwaukee pushed the ball up the floor and 6-foot-11 Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed to have a mismatch on a drive, but he had his baseline shot blocked by the 6-foot-8 Miller, who has creaky knees and not the vertical jump he once had.
Asked to describe the game's biggest play, Miller grinned.
"It's what I do," he deadpanned, drawing laughter from reporters. "I made my career on that."
Following the block, Irving made a twisting layup and was fouled. His three-point play made it 92-89, and after Parker missed a jumper, James scored on a driving layup to put the Cavs up five with 3:48 left.
Still, the Bucks stayed close and were within four on Knight's 3-pointer with 15 seconds to go. However, James made eight free throws in the final 33 seconds to put Milwaukee away.
