The Bucks’ offense was on fire at the Bradley Center on Wednesday night. And Monta Ellis isn’t even in a Milwaukee uniform yet.
Six Bucks scored at least a dozen points and Milwaukee used a 31-point fourth quarter to pull away from the Cavaliers, handing them their second straight defeat – 115-105.
Milwaukee also notched a 34-point second quarter, shot 54 percent from the floor and handed out 38 assists.
Despite the daunting numbers, Cleveland was still within a point late in the third quarter. But Milwaukee closed the period on an 8-3 run, giving them all the breathing space they’d need.
“I thought (Milwaukee) played well pretty much the whole game,” said Coach Byron Scott.“I thought it was a consistent effort on their part of getting the ball moving from side to side.Their offensive execution was great. We had a bit of a lull; we missed layups. We turned the ball over a little bit and they had a nice run.”
Kyrie Irving led the Wine and Gold with 28 points, going 11-for-16 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from long-distance. Irving added five assists and three boards, but turned the ball over eight times.
“The past few games I had really struggled with my shot, but am getting it back,” said Irving. “I thought I was hitting the wall, the mythical wall, the rookie wall, and I’m getting it back. But at the end of the day, we have to get a win. That’s what it’s about.”
Alonzo Gee added 19 points and Antawn Jamison tallied 13. Both players led the Cavaliers with five rebounds, as Cleveland was beat up on the boards – 49-34.
Daniel Gibson kept the Cavaliers reasonably close, netting nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Boobie was 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Ramon Sessions had a forgettable return to Milwaukee, going 0-for-8 from the floor. Sessions did manage to lead the Cavaliers in assists with six and snagged three steals off the bench.
Milwaukee’s Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 22 points, but it was former Cavalier Drew Gooden who did most of the damage – notching his second triple-double in his last three meetings with Cleveland. Gooden finished with 15 points, 13 assists and 10 boards.
The Cavaliers get a rare three-night respite this weekend and don’t tip-off again until Sunday afternoon when they take on the Hawks at The Q before hitting the road for three straight.