With a third of the roster coming or going as a result of the deal that sent Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson to Golden State for Monta Ellis and Kwame Brown, the remaining Milwaukee Bucks were a step faster than the Cavaliers in their 115-105 win in the Bradley Center on Wednesday night. Led by the triple-double styling of Drew Gooden, Milwaukee pulled away late in the third period and cruised home over a Cleveland team that ran out of gas on the second night of a back-to-back.
Is That You, Drew? I watched most of the 355 games Drew Gooden played as a Cavalier, and never once did I conjure up visions of Bill Walton or Brad Daugherty as a passer, and for good reason: Gooden averaged 1.2 assists per game in Cleveland; probably less than the number of times he let a perfect LeBron James pass bounce off his forehead and out of bounds.
You can’t accuse Drew of lacking talent on the court, however, and on Wednesday night he flashed a deft passing touch that caught Cleveland’s defense off-balance. Setting up in the high post, Gooden again and again hit teammates with nifty feeds off backdoor cuts, even passing off shots in his range to find the open man. The tenth-year from Kansas matched his career high with 13 assists and with 15 points (on 7-of-12 shooting) and 10 assists notched his second career triple-double. Gooden’s previous triple-double and 13-assist night also came against Cleveland back on April 5, 2009.
Passing Fancy: Gooden’s generosity proved contagious, at least for the home team. Milwaukee rolled up 38 assists on 46 made baskets Wednesday night, a display of extra passing that led to a 53.5 percent performance from the field and six men in double figures. The Bucks were the quicker team nearly all night on both ends, hammering the Cavaliers 49-34 on the boards, and looked fresher down the stretch.
Run That Ended the Fun: Milwaukee took lasting command in the closing minutes of the third quarter, breaking open a one-point game with 14-3 run that made it 90-78 early in the fourth. The Cavaliers missed eight straight attempts from the field during this stretch, several from point-blank range that simply wouldn’t fall. They never got to within seven afterward.
Nice Numbers- But…: Wednesday was a bit of a mixed bag for Kyrie Irving. He got his shooting stroke back- 11-of-16 from the field, 2-of-4 from downtown and 4-of-4 from the line- and racked up a game-high 28, his second-highest total in the pros. But he also turned it over a career-high eight times and looked as befuddled as everyone else defensively against the free-flowing Milwaukee offense. Irving scored nine at Oklahoma City last week and played far better than he did against the Bucks.
Pure Comedy: Ryan Hollins on Wednesday night: 15 minutes, two rebounds, two turnovers, two fouls, several displays of awful hands, feet and general basketball skill- and one dunk, after which he followed by staring down the entire building (the crowd in the Bradley Center being what it was, he probably could have.) Hollins’s tough-guy poses are easily my favorite part of his game, being that he treats entry passes like a soccer player trying to dig the ball out of the corner.
Gee, I Wonder: Alonzo Gee on Wednesday night: 8-of-16 shooting (1-of-5 from three, a bit much), 2-of-2 from the line; 19 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists. I can’t decide if Gee is the classic decent player on a bad team or a guy who can actually contribute to a winner.
Now for the Good News: Wednesday’s loss dropped the Cavaliers two full games behind the Bucks- and the Knicks, who defeated Portland- in the race for the dubious prize of eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Cleveland is also only three games up on Toronto in another race; that for the fourth-highest number of ping pong balls in the NBA Draft Lottery. I’m not so “pro-tank” that I get foul whenever this team wins a game and I think it’s important to be at least competitive while rebuilding; but also it’s important to get in the best position possible to get an impact player in June.
Next: A Sunday matinee at 3:00, as the Cavaliers host the Atlanta Hawks at the Q.