Written by Jesse Lamovsky

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Here’s something to ponder in the wake of Cleveland’s 102-88 loss to the Bucks Friday night at the Q, the fifteenth defeat in a row and twenty-fifth in twenty-six games for the Cavaliers…

Were it not for an overtime escape over the Knicks on December 18, this basketball team would be on an NBA record twenty-six game losing streak right now, with no end in sight.

Oh, and that December 18 date means the Cavaliers haven’t won a game in over a month. Go ahead and marinate on that for a minute, while you’re at it.

Friday night’s defeat was a fairly typical example of the kind of game Cleveland has lost recently. The Cavaliers hung tough early, forging a 31-31 tie with 10:36 remaining in the half on Daniel Gibson’s runner. With 2:45 left in the half it was still 41-39 in favor of the Bucks and it appeared the Cavaliers would have a chance to steal one against a Milwaukee team that has struggled with consistency all season.

Then the roof caved in. Milwaukee pulled away on a 21-6 run spanning the end of the first half and the first four minutes of the second. With 7:54 remaining in the third period the Bucks led by seventeen at 62-45- and it was all but over. Cleveland trailed by as many as twenty and never got closer than nine down the stretch.

The statistics reflected the game’s lopsided score. Milwaukee shot a fiery 50.6 percent on the night. Andrew Bogut had his way all night long, dumping in 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting and adding six rebounds. Corey Maggette, the man known as “Bad Porn” by Warriors fans (lots of scoring, lots of penetration, but still a waste of time) added 20 and made his usual repeated trips to the free-throw line, canning 8-of-9 from the stripe. Keyon Dooling dished out a season-high 11 assists to go with 12 points. The Bucks only put three men in double-figure scoring but got 35 points from their bench in winning their second in a row.

Cleveland, meanwhile, had its problems. The Cavaliers shot 38.2 percent and lost despite making more free throws (32) than Milwaukee attempted (24.) Cleveland committed fifteen turnovers and got a very forgettable night from J.J. Hickson, who played just seventeen minutes and scored two points while battling foul trouble. Antawn Jamison and Ramon Sessions each scored 22 points but shot a combined 11-of-32 in getting there.

And this streak might not end any time soon. Five of Cleveland’s next six games are on the road, including match-ups with the Bulls, Celtics, Magic and Heat. The one home game is against Denver, which shellacked the Cavaliers by twenty-eight points last week. This team might set the record yet.

And if you’re thinking, “Hey, it’s the NBA, someone will come in flat and allow this team to steal the game,” here’s some cold water. Teams aren’t going to play flat against the Cavaliers. No one wants to lose to this basketball team. Cleveland is going to get everyone’s A game. That’s part of being not just the worst team in the NBA but a historically bad team. The fear of shame and embarrassment will push opponents to bring their best effort to the floor every time they play Cleveland.

That’s bad news if you want Cleveland to win another game this season. It’s good news if you want the Cavaliers to secure the largest number of ping-pong balls in this May’s draft lottery.

Next: Saturday night at 8:00 when the Cavaliers limp into the United Center to take on the first-place Bulls