Wrap-Up – In a back-and-forth affair in which neither team brought their defensive A-game, the Bucks closed out the Cavaliers’ road schedule with a 119-116 shootout loss at the Bradley Center.
Dion Waiters led six Cavaliers in double-figures, netting 13 of his 23 points in the second quarter – going 8-for-15 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the stripe, adding a career-high five steals. Jarrett Jack followed up with 21 points off the bench and Tristan Thompson doubled-up for the 34th time this season with 18 points and 10 boards. Spencer Hawes chipped in with 15 points, six boards and a pair of blocks before fouling out and Kyrie Irving added 12 points and three steals. Tyler Zeller rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
The game featured 11 ties and 15 lead changes and neither team put up resistance in the paint, with the Cavs scoring 60 points to Milwaukee’s 58. (The Cavaliers had come into Friday’s contest with the NBA’s longest string of holding opponents under 45 at 18 games.)
Turning Point – The Bucks came out firing, scoring 37 points in the first period. But the Cavaliers were just as good and posted 69 points before intermission. But while Cleveland cooled off considerably in the third quarter, Milwaukee stayed hot – shooting 61 percent to the Cavaliers’ 26 – outscoring them, 30-18, in the third. The game kept its frenetic pace in the fourth quarter, but the Bucks went on a late 8-1 run to put the contest just out of reach.
Game Ball – Jarrett Jack – The eight-year vet from Georgia Tech did a little bit of everything on Friday night – going 7-for-13 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the stripe, adding four boards a pair of assists, turning the ball over just twice in 34 minutes of action.
By the Numbers – 14-27 … Cavaliers’ final road record in 2013-14, a four-game improvement over last year’s mark. The Cavaliers won 13 of their last 30 road contests after dropping 10 of their first 11 and closed out the season with nine wins in their last 16 games away from The Q.
Quotable – Coach Mike Brown, on his team’s effort on Friday night in Milwaukee …
”I don’t think we played good basketball tonight. There were a lot of areas during the course of the game where we didn’t play good basketball. We probably put together a eight minute stretch in the first half, and maybe a five minute stretch in the second half. Other than that, we were just out there playing the game in my opinion.”
Up Next – With Friday night’s loss, the Cavaliers wrap up their road schedule for the 2013-14 season. They return for a pair at The Q to close out the regular season. On Saturday night, they welcome the Boston Celtics to town before wrapping up with the Brooklyn Nets next Wednesday on Fan Appreciation Night.