Allen scored 28 points and the Bucks used their shooting to post a 101-91 victory over the Cavaliers and keep pace in the Central Division.
The Bucks are a team that is as good as their shooting. Allen made 10-of-21 shots, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range.
Milwaukee clicked at 49 percent (38-of-78) and improved to 25-8 when it shoots 45 percent or better. The Bucks are 9-16 when they shoot below 45 percent.
 Ray Allen was on target in a win against the Cavs. David Liam Kyle NBAE/Getty Images |
After Glenn Robinson blocked Michael Doleac's short jump shot, he fed Allen, who found Tim Thomas for an easy dunk to make it 68-60 with 4:14 left in the third period.
Cleveland shot just 21 percent in the period and missed eight consecutive shots before Wesley Person ended the drought with 18 seconds left.
Point guard Andre Miller led the Cavaliers with 17 points. But Miller was on the bench as Cleveland blew a 12-point lead in the first quarter.
"I thought we were very tired," Cavaliers coach John Lucas said. "We looked like a team that is really worn down. Andre looked dead out there. Milwaukee beat us soundly. We did some good things for a long time, but when we went to the bench, we got down 16.
"I thought we could get back, but we didn't. When we were in the penalty situation, we kept settling for jump shots and that hurt us."
In the first three minutes of the fourth period, the Bucks seemed poised to extend the lead. But after Michael Redd misfired on a 3-pointer, the Cavs made things interesting, cutting the lead below 10 points for a three-minute stretch.
Jumpers by Allen and Anthony Mason with five minutes left pushed the lead back to double digits and Milwaukee never looked back.
However, that stretch was a cause of concern for Allen.
"I feel our record could be six or seven more wins," Allen said. "But we're not closing out the tough games, not winning close games.
"Our fourth-quarter game has been bad. We made moves in the right direction to make amends for that. With Cassell out, our team offense shifts and we double on ballhandling and that changes a whole lot."
Both teams played Saturday, and the Bucks were stretched into overtime. But on Sunday, once Milwaukee got rolling, its ball movement and accuracy from all ends of the court overwhelmed Cleveland.
Milwaukee dished out 22 assists despite not having point guard Sam Cassell, who sat out with a big toe injury.
Allen and backup point guard Rafer Alston made up for Cassell's 6.8 assists with seven apiece.
But Milwaukee's ball movement was not the most impressive thing in the eyes of coach George Karl. Karl, who has been critical of his team, was impressed by the defense, which allowed 107 points in the last meeting with Cleveland on February 13.
"We were pretty solid defensively the whole game and I think that was the reason we won today," Karl said.
"We couldn't have played a better defense," Allen added. "We didn't let Miller get into the game early and we didn't let Wesley (Person) get into the game and that was the key for us tonight. It was almost easier winning after the tough loss to Portland, when you do play back-to-back. We would have still held that loss inside of us if we played tomorrow or Tuesday."
Person, one of the better 3-point shooters in the NBA, was held to 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting. In the last meeting, Person scored 33 points.