(On what was the difference in the second half): "We changed our defenses up and within that, we began to defend, which we did not do in the first half. We became the aggressors and we became the attackers as opposed to being attacked as the Bucks do and did to us in the first half."
(On Mike Miller’s contribution): "I thought Mike, when he came in, he gave the others confidence. He made that shot, but he was being Mike Miller, playing smart and doing the little things on the court. I think he got seven rebounds and of course he made a couple of big shots. But he sort of stabilized us and gave the others confidence and that’s what a veteran should do. I gotta give him a lot of credit. He hasn’t played in the last several games and we threw him into a very tough situation and he answered the call in a big way."
(On Kevin Love): "I just thought that Kevin, very much like the last game, he got to his spots on the floor. He made shots, he rebounded as he always does, he was very much engaged and played a really solid game for us…During the course of the game, especially with the kind of team that we have, everyone takes up a piece of the game. Sometimes you’re taking up a piece early and sometimes later. But you know, I thought Kevin made one of the bigger shots of the game in the fourth quarter, if you remember the three that he made going down the stretch. I think he finished the second half with seven points, but he had already done a great body of work up until that point. He still came out and made that big shot and got a couple of big rebounds, so he was there and that’s important.”
(On his three-pointer being a “jumping point”): “Absolutely. There were a couple plays before that, but specifically that play jump started a run that kind of pulled us away in the game. We had lulls on the defensive end for the first three quarters, including myself, and we just kept fighting. It was one of those games that was an ugly game. We were a step slow on both ends of the floor. We just came together as a group and took collective responsibility of stopping our men and got the win.”
(On the team needing his scoring): “It’s more of a just a feel and whatever coach calls and whatever I feel out there is as well. If I have something quick in transition or within the pick-and-roll, I have all the freedom and all the trust from my teammates to go do that. It wasn’t just me, it was a collective thing for us – making plays. In that fourth quarter, I think that’s probably the best we’ve moved the ball within ‘crunch time’ for us all season. It wasn’t just me or LeBron at the top of the key playing pick-and-roll. We went to that, but we were making plays, got offensive rebounds when we needed to and the ball bounced in our favor a few extra times and we came out with this win. It was a much needed win.”
(On Mike Miller’s playing time tonight): “I’ve played with him for so long that I know exactly how he can be effective and for him to get those minutes tonight show why he’s going to be so valuable to our success…He’s going to be very important, like I said, to our team. He gives us so much space and he rebounds. People don’t know how great of a rebounder he is, too. He had seven rebounds in 17 minutes and he hit two big-time threes for us. That just gives us a lot of space for myself and Kyrie (Irving) and Kevin (Love) to work.”
(On Jabari Parker): “I think he’s excellent. Excellent game, great feel for the game tonight. With any rookie, they’re always going to have their ups and downs. The talent is there. He’s explosive, he can shoot the ball and he can make a rebound too.”
(On how it felt to play tonight): “It just felt good to play, to be a part of it and help win the game. That’s all it’s about.”
(On difficulty staying ready): “It’s tough. All you want in any profession is consistency, but it’s tough. We all have talents. Who knows what the next game is going to bring. I’ll always stay ready. I got a lot of work in today and played some minutes tonight, so we’ll see how it goes next game.”
(On tonight’s game): “You give them credit. They kept playing. They’re a veteran group and they made plays. We couldn’t come up with a rebound. They played zone (defense) a couple of times and we had some good looks, we just didn’t knock them down. So for us, this is a great learning experience. When we get open shots we’ve got to be able to knock them down. We gave ourselves a chance to win on the road. Tomorrow we’ve got another tough opponent (Dallas). We’ve got to learn from this game.”
(On Jabari Parker’s performance): “I don’t want say this was his best game, because tomorrow could be his best game. He’s playing at a very high level. I think he’s getting better (with his) comfort level on both ends and also being able to deliver. He did that tonight.”
(On Kevin Love): “(Cleveland’s) got a lot of talent. Someone’s going to score the ball. Kevin was going, and then guys started to make the adjustment of trying to get him off the three point line because he was shooting the ball extremely well. But then he gets into the post and he can score there too. So we just tried to make it tough and not give him second opportunities or second looks, because that’s where he can hurt you.”
(On what cost his team the game): “The last five minutes was a stretch where we really let go of the game. We made silly mistakes and gave them easy baskets. But it’s a team effort. Everyone could have done something.”
(On the Cavs tonight): “One player (LeBron) doesn’t win the game. They had three other guys that contributed – Kyrie and Kevin Love, as well as some of their big guys. That’s what really lost the game for us – their whole team.
(On the Cavs tonight): “You saw early on they were kind of out of it. They were sluggish defensively and they had a lot of lapses. We went from down 10 to up six at one point in the first half. They give you a chance where you can stretch that lead and you can put it on them. We didn’t really do what we were supposed to. Then they caught up and they did what they were supposed to at the end.”
(On the Cavs’ difference-maker tonight): “Their execution down the stretch shows you why they’re supposed to be an elite team, and why we’re struggling when we’re young and just making adjustments.”
CAVALIERS NOTES:
- The Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to four, after they edged the Milwaukee Bucks 111-108 tonight. It marked the fourth straight game the Cavs have reached the century mark. They have now won eight straight contests when scoring 100-plus points (9-1 on the season). During the current winning streak, the Cavs are averaging 109.8 points on .523 shooting and 23.8 assists, while holding opponents to 91.5 points on .428 shooting.
- The Wine and Gold shot above .500 for the fourth consecutive game (6-0 this season when hitting above .500), after connecting on 39-73 (.534) from the floor. The last time Cleveland accomplished that feat was when it had five consecutive outings of .500 or better from Feb. 25, 2010 – Mar. 5, 2010. (Elias Sports Bureau)
- The Cavaliers are now 7-3 against the Eastern Conference and 3-0 against Central Division foes. They are also 5-2 against the Bucks in the last seven meetings, including their 4th straight win over Milwaukee at The Q.
- The Wine and Gold had three players score 26 points or more (Irving-28, Love-27 and James-26) in a single game for the first time since Dec. 29, 2006, when James (32), Donyell Marshall (29) and Larry Hughes (26) each scored more than 26 in a 109-99 victory at home over the Milwaukee Bucks. (Elias Sports Bureau)
- Kyrie Irving recorded up his 12th 20-point performance of the year, after recording a game-high 28 points on 10-15 (.667) shooting, six assists, two rebounds, one block and a steal in 41 minutes. Irving also had only one turnover for his sixth game of 20 or more points and one or fewer turnovers this season. The Cavs are 5-1 in those outings.
- Kevin Love grabbed his second straight double-double and eighth of the year after turning in 27 points on a season-high 10 field goals made on 16 attempts (.625), a game-high 10 boards and a block in 40 minutes of action. Love scored 17 points in the first quarter to tie a Cavs season high (James, 17 in 3rd Quarter vs New Orleans on Nov. 10) and now has 33 points combined in the first quarter of the last two games.
- LeBron James recorded his sixth double-double of the 2014-15 campaign after tallying 26 points, a game-high 10 assists and five rebounds in 41 minutes. Fifteen of James’ 26 points came in the fourth quarter. It was the 74th time in James’ career in which he has totaled 25-plus points, 10-plus assists and five-plus rebounds.
- Anderson Varejao shot 4-8 (.500) from the floor for eight points, while adding eight rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes of play. Varejao surpassed Brad Daugherty (548) for games played in a Cavaliers uniform after he made his 549th appearance tonight.
- Shawn Marion reached double-digit scoring for the third time this season, after totaling 10 points, four boards, a steal and a block in 32 minutes.
- Mike Miller made 2-4 (.500) triples and finished with six points, a season-high seven rebounds and a block in 18 minutes.