Cavaliers-Bucks Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Dec 22 2012 12:32AM

The Milwaukee Bucks are getting some good results, but they're facing a potentially tough stretch at home.

The difficult part might not begin until the Cleveland Cavaliers leave town.

Milwaukee goes for its 10th straight victory versus Cleveland on Saturday night when the Cavs will likely be without Anderson Varejao again as they try to avoid a season-worst seventh consecutive defeat.

Winners of six of eight following Friday's 99-94 overtime victory over Boston, the Bucks (14-11) will now play three straight and five of six at home. Brooklyn, Miami, San Antonio and Houston will all make stops at the Bradley Center during this stretch.

A visit by the Cavs (5-23) could help Milwaukee build more momentum for those contests considering it's undefeated in this series since an 83-81 road loss Nov. 24, 2010

The Bucks have won the last six meetings in Milwaukee after Brandon Jennings' 3-pointer at the buzzer gave them a 105-102 victory on Nov. 3.

The teams' most recent meeting was last Friday in Cleveland, where Monta Ellis - who scored five of his team-high 27 points in OT after missing the morning shootaround with a sore back - finished with a season-best 33 in a 90-86 victory.

That was the Bucks' season-best fourth consecutive win.

Cleveland, the Eastern Conference's second-worst team, has won just four times since its November trip to Milwaukee.

"Unless we play as a team at both ends of the floor, we are going to continue to lose," coach Byron Scott said following Friday's 99-89 loss to Indiana. "I'm not running out of ideas, but I'm getting close."

The Cavs are on the verge of their first seven-game skid since a nine-game stretch March 21-April 4. It doesn't appear Varejao will be able to help stop Cleveland's slide as he's expected to be sidelined by a bruised right knee for a third straight game.

Cleveland could surely use Varejao in the lineup - he leads the NBA with 14.4 rebounds per game and has 35 against Milwaukee this season - but the team sees no reason to rush him back and risk further injury.

"It's better to miss three games than 33 or 40 games," Scott said.

Rookie Tyler Zeller should get another start in place of Varejao after totaling 32 points and 10 rebounds in the last two games.

Zeller, Tristan Thompson and Alonzo Gee could have their hands full with Larry Sanders and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.

Sanders, who has a team-best 17 rebounds against Cleveland this season, grabbed a career-best 20 on Friday while Mbah a Moute scored a season-high 20.

Mbah a Moute's foul on Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving last week sent the reigning rookie of the year to the floor and resulted in a fractured bone in his jaw.

Irving scored 26 points in that contest and is now averaging 27.5 in four career games against the Bucks.

The Cavs, losers of five straight and 13 of 14 on the road, have dropped 17 in a row to division opponents.

Cavaliers beat Bucks 94-82

Posted Dec 23 2012 12:44AM

MILWAUKEE (AP) The Cleveland Cavaliers had a plan and worked it to perfection.

Dion Waiters scored 18 points, and the Cavaliers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 94-82 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

Cavaliers coach Byron Scott knew he had to slow down Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis. Cleveland shut down Jennings, but Ellis shredded the defense and scored a season-high 37 points.

"With that backcourt and the type of the firepower they have, you have to slow one of them down," Scott said. "We kept Jennings in check pretty much the whole night. That was a big time key."

Jennings was 3 of 13 from the floor. Ellis was 15 of 27.

Cleveland had all five starters score in double figures, which offset Ellis' performance.

C.J. Miles added 16 points, and Kyrie Irving had 15 for the Cavaliers, playing without starting center Anderson Varejao for the third straight game because of a bruised right knee.

Tristan Thompson had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Tyler Zeller, who started for Varejao, had 11 points and 10 boards. Alonzo Gee finished with 10 points for the Cavaliers.

"We came in with the mindset that we are going to compete for 48 minutes," Irving said. "Once we go out there and perform the way we do, it all speaks for itself."

The Bucks had won the previous nine games against the Cavaliers.

Both teams played Friday night, but Cleveland came out with more energy and led the entire game. The Cavaliers fell to Indiana 99-89 at home one night earlier, and Milwaukee beat Boston 99-94 in overtime on the road.

"We did start the game off kind of slow," Ellis said. "They built the early lead. They sustained it the whole game. We made our run, but never could get back enough to change the momentum of the game."

Marquis Daniels scored nine points for Milwaukee.

Daniels said the game in Boston wasn't the reason for the loss to Cleveland on Saturday.

"We're never going to say we're tired or anything," he said. "Shots weren't falling. Give them all the credit. They played good defense. They had a plan. They came in and stuck with it."

Milwaukee shot 31 of 79 (39.2 percent). Cleveland was 38 of 88 (43.2 percent).

After Milwaukee cut it its deficit to four points with 6:32 left, Zeller made two free throws, and Miles added a jumper to give the Cavaliers an 86-72 lead.

NOTES: Zeller made his third consecutive start in place of Varejao. Zeller missed his first 10 shots before scoring on a putback in the third. ... Referee Haywoode Workman played eight seasons for four teams in the NBA, including 1999-2000 for the Bucks. ... Varejao stayed in Cleveland to receive treatment. ... Cleveland's Luke Walton finished with seven points, six rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes, all season highs.

Notebook: Cavaliers 94, Bucks 82

Rick Braun, For NBA.com
Posted Sun Dec 23, 2012 12:12 AM - Updated Sun Dec 23, 2012 12:12 AM

THE FACTS: Dion Waiters scored 18 points and C.J. Miles added 16 off the bench to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 94-82 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, snapping the Cavaliers' six-game losing streak.

Tristan Thompson added 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Cavaliers (6-23) overcame 37 points from Milwaukee's Monta Ellis.

QUOTABLE: "It was definitely a confidence booster for our team, especially going to the fourth. They made their run, and that bucket at the end made it eight, and our second group did a great job of sustaining the lead."

-- Kyrie Irving on his basket that beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter and stopped Milwaukee's momentum

THE STAT: Ellis went 15-for-27 from the field. The rest of the Bucks (14-12) went 16-for-52.

TURNING POINT: The Bucks had trimmed a 67-47 deficit down to 69-63 late in the third quarter when the Cavs took possession with 22 seconds left. Irving worked one-on-one against Luc Richard Mbah a Moute -- Milwaukee's best defender -- and managed to bank in a running shot from the right side of the lane as the buzzer sounded. That gave the Cavs a lift as they went to the bench, and after baskets by Thompson and Miles to open the fourth quarter, the Bucks never got within single digits again.

QUOTABLE II: "Maybe we should just fly in the day of the game every trip from now on and stay at home on our back-to-back nights."

-- Cavs coach Byron Scott, whose team stayed in Cleveland Friday night after its game against Indiana because of a winter storm and didn't fly to Milwaukee until Saturday morning

HOT: Thompson went 6-for-8 on a very efficient night offensively. He has three straight double-doubles and has had at least nine rebounds in five of his last six games.

NOT: While Ellis was going off, back-court mate Brandon Jennings was going 3-for-13. Jennings is shooting just 35.2 percent (37-for-105) in his last six games.

INSIDE THE ARENA: During the first half, the Bucks honored team photographer Bob Tai, who passed away this week. Tai, 87, had been the Bucks team photographer since 1969. He was on hand Tuesday to shoot the Bucks' victory over Indiana.

GOOD MOVE: Because of bad weather after their home game Friday night, the Cavaliers did not fly into Milwaukee until Saturday morning. It was most likely the first time any of their players flew into a road game on the day of the game, but it seemed to work just fine as the Cavs improved to 3-14 on the road.

ROOKIE WATCH: Waiters was 9-for-17 for his 18 points, and fellow rookie Tyler Zeller added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out.

NOTABLE: When Ellis made a 3-pointer with 9:32 in the third quarter it snapped a streak of 13 misses from behind the arc. ... Bucks center Larry Sanders had just two points but 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. He has blocked at least five shots in six games this season. ... The Cavs snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Bucks. The last time Cleveland had beaten Milwaukee was Nov. 24, 2010, on a buzzer-beater by Mo Williams.

UP NEXT: For the Cavaliers, Wednesday @ Washington, Friday vs. Atlanta, Saturday @ Brooklyn. For the Bucks, Wednesday vs. Brooklyn, Saturday vs. Miami, Sunday @ Detroit.

• Cavaliers: Sloan, Varejao
• Bucks: Harris, Udrih

• Cavaliers: --
• Bucks: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #66 Haywoode Workman, #45 Brian Forte
• Attendance: 14176
• Duration: 2:02