Written by Brian McPeek

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"I can't believe I had to watch that with all the other things on TV tonight."  When you get that email from the guy you assigned the column to, you know the result couldn't be good.  And it wasn't.  Milwaukee shot 52% from the field and held the Cavs to 37% from the floor to win 108-98. The Bucks didn’t need a miraculous 3-pointer at the buzzer on Saturday night like they did the last time the Cavs played in Wisconsin. Instead they took it to the Cavs early by jumping out to a 29-14 first quarter lead.  Peeker relives the horror.

What is it about the Bradley Center that brings back memories of the Ricky Davis-led Cleveland Cavaliers?

The Milwaukee Bucks are not known for their defense. They’re only slightly better known for their offense. But that didn’t stop them from outplaying the Cavaliers again on both sides of the court Saturday night in the Bradley Center.

Milwaukee shot 52% from the field and held the Cavs to 37% from the floor to win 108-98. The Bucks didn’t need a miraculous 3-pointer at the buzzer on Saturday night like they did the last time the Cavs played in Wisconsin. Instead they took it to the Cavs early by jumping out to a 29-14 first quarter lead. The Cavs recovered in the second quarter with a furious rally to tie the game at halftime but the Bucks poured on 32 more points in the third quarter to build an 11-point lead that they ultimately salted away.

The Bucks starting backcourt of Michael Redd and Mo Williams combined to score 50 points on 16-25 from the floor. They also got 17 points from Desmond Mason, 16 from Andrew Bogut and 12 points on four 3-pointers from Charlie Bell.

The Cavs got the normal 29 from LeBron James to go with his 11 rebounds and Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Wally Szczerbiak added 20 and 14 points respectively.

Take It

• Well, the game did end before the late NCAA games were finished. That’s something, right?

• ‘Z’ and Szczerbiak were efficient and productive offensively. Wally was 4-5 in the first half and finished the night 6-11 from the floor. He still hasn’t consistently found his range but on a night like Saturday you have to find something to hang your hat on. Ilgauskas was 7-12 from the field and continues to knock down open 15-footers on the ‘pick and pop’ set the Cavs are running for him.

• The Cavs showed some heart after playing last night, suffering some travel difficulties to Milwaukee and getting ball-batted by the Bucks in the first quarter. They outscored the Bucks 32-17 to tie up the ballgame at halftime and gave themselves a chance to win. But the run they needed to tie the game took a lot out of a team they was on the back end of consecutive games and their third game in the last 4 nights. When we said in Friday’s recap that the Cavs needed to jump on the Bucks early and kill their will we weren’t lying. Instead they got blindsided and gave the Bucks life and a reason to put forth continued effort.

Leave It

• Typically the opening tip signifies that a ballgame has begun. The Cavs didn’t get the message. Playing against a mediocre team (which is being very kind given the win snapped a 6-game Milwaukee losing streak), they answered the alarm 12 minutes of play late and put themselves in a huge hole. A head coach has got to do what it takes to get his team’s attention and have them ready to play. The Cavs pride themselves on being a ‘no excuses’ team. The three games in four nights deal is no excuse to come out against Milwaukee in body only. Add Mike Brown to the list of underachievers in Milwaukee.

• Ilgauskas may have been his typical efficient, effective self on the offensive end, but he and the Cavs interior defense were non-existent against a middling Bucks front court of Mason and Bogut. Bogut especially established himself early and his early offense was a catalyst for Milwaukee’s first quarter success. Leaving Ben Wallace back in Cleveland with back spasms certainly didn’t help, but again, no excuses.

• A number that’s a pretty good indication that the Cavs were without their legs for most of the night was the fact that they hoisted up 24 3-point shots. They hit only 7 of those 24 but it’s telling that instead of pounding the ball into the paint against Bogut, Mason and Yi Jianlian the Cavs were content to rely on long jumpers. Part of the reason for that was that Joe Smith and Devin Brown apparently remained in Cleveland with Ben Wallace. Smith got extended playing time but was able to muster just 5 points on 1-5 shooting. Devin Brown equaled Smith’s 1-5 shooting but did so in 2/3 of the time. Brown played only 19 minutes and, along with Smith, was basically AWOL on Saturday night.

• The Cavs lack of quickness at the PG position was never more obvious than on Saturday night. Mo Williams violated every defender the Cavs put on him. Any defender who backed off Williams and respected his quickness watched as Williams hit jumper after jumper. Any defender that tried to get up on Williams watched him sail past and hit layups or set up teammates for easy put-ins.

Finally

The Cavs get a break from the grind and are off until Wednesday night. They return to ‘The Q’ on Wednesday for a 7pm tip against a tough New Orleans Hornets squad. The Hornets dumped the Eastern Conference leading Boston Celtics on Saturday night and offer a tough test for Cleveland.

Keep in mind that the Cavs did take two out of three in the last four days and earned decisions over Detroit and Toronto in the process. Dropping a game to the lowly Bucks is a rough way to cap off the week, but given the circumstances you’ll take the two wins they got.