March 22 vs Bucks

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(On the difference in the second half):
“We just recognized from an intensity standpoint and from an energy standpoint we were not where we needed to be to win that game. Milwaukee was handing it to us pretty good in that first half. We had to wake up and we did.”

(On LeBron James’ animation in the third quarter):
“If you are calling guys out, or animated about and demanding of the right things, then that is a good thing, especially from your leader.”

(On being a step slow in the first half):
“I think you’re right. It would be hard for me to argue that, especially in the first half and maybe the beginning of the third quarter. I’m not sure that we are completely over the previous period of really difficult road days. Twenty out of 25 days it just seems that we are trying to catch our breath a little bit, and that’s why I’m happy we had an early game today and we will be getting home at a reasonable hour. Guys are going to get a good night’s rest. We will have a day off tomorrow, and we are going to have a practice Tuesday, which is going to be great. I can’t wait and I’m so excited about that. I think we can just catch our breath a little bit. It doesn’t guarantee us anything going forward, but it seems like we are still trying to get our oxygen back from that long period on the road.”

(On potentially playing the Bucks in the playoffs):
“We are going to see them before we get to the playoffs. Obviously right now the Bucks are missing a few guys. Let’s be honest, [O.J.] Mayo isn’t playing, [Jared] Dudley isn’t playing, and those are important players in Jason’s [Kidd] rotation. You draw something from every time you play a team, you learn something, but can we gain any particular advantage or get a really clear picture of what it would look like? No I don’t think so, not yet.”

(On his success getting to the rim):
“The shots didn’t necessarily fall when I wanted them to but [I had] the aggressive mindset to continue to go downhill I [had] that mindset to continue to get wherever I need to be for my teammates to be successful and in order for me to get to the rim. The lane was opening up. I want to stay as aggressive as possible.”

(On the Cavaliers defensive play in the fourth quarter):
“We just got shots, buckled down. We put our feet down into the court and made a stand. It had been within four, two, and then it got back to six. For us we just needed to get the lead, and we knew what to do from there. We were getting shots and just trusting each other on the defensive end.”

(On overcoming the Bucks length with quick decisions):
“In this game it’s a split decision. You have to make quick decisions. If you’re indecisive, then everyone that’s playing with you out there becomes indecisive. If you give the ball energy and give guys flow, you’re coming off the pick and roll, you’re attacking downhill, you’re wide open at the backside or around the rim, you’ve got to make a play. If you miss, we’re cool, we’re living with it. But get back on defense and we go from there.”

(On playing afternoon games):
“It’s a little weird not playing at 7, 8 or 6 o’clock. These are games you’ve got to get up for, because come playoff time you don’t know what the schedule will be like.”

(On LeBron James motivating the team in the second half):
“It happened to be him tonight. Urgency was something that we needed in that second half. We were able to pick it up, keep breaking down the deficit. Really at the end of the third LeBron [James] picked it up and we never looked back.”

(On the team’s turnovers):
“[We had] 23 turnovers. We’ve done that all season, so the one thing we have been is consistent in turning the ball over. That puts our defense in a bad situation and a lot of pressure on your defense. When you play against good teams, you’re going to be playing from behind a lot [when you have too many turnovers]. In the fourth quarter, we started off with a turnover, which got LeBron [James] going.”

(On the bench’s recent struggles):
“When you look at it, our bench has to do a better job. Throughout the whole season, our bench has been playing at a very high level, and right now our bench isn’t giving us anything. We have to get something from our bench. Our starters are giving everything they can, even though the turnovers are high from our starters. This is a team game, and we’ve been built as a team. It’s not just one guy, we play 10-11 guys. Early on, our bench was playing at a high level, and right now they aren’t giving us anything, so we have to get something better from them, and not just rely on the five guys that are starting.”

(On how the team is handling their struggles while being in a playoff race):
“I think that they are dealing with it well. You see the competition, they are competing. It was a two-point game going into the fourth quarter, and it was anybody’s ballgame. We didn’t play well in that fourth quarter -- we gave up over 30 points. We [were] down two at home, and you have to feel that you are in a great seat to have an opportunity to beat an elite team.”

(On LeBron James in the second half):
“LeBron just tried to turn it up a little bit. Get his teammates and himself going, and he did.”

(On the team’s turnovers):
“We turned the ball over way too much, including myself. Just can’t turn the ball over like we did, and [we would] have a chance to win.”

(On the playoff race):
“We’re still in it. Got a couple more games at home. Got to fight to win it.”

(On the loss ):
“In the beginning of the game we did a good job keeping them to 44 points. It was a hell of a defense. Everybody put a lot of effort into it. We kind of didn’t let LeBron James have the freedom to play, but in the second half we kind of got away from the first half. Obviously, they made a lot of 3-point shots during that stretch to kind of separate from us. We had a lot of mistakes, like easy ones. On the fast break we were turning the ball over a lot. When you’re turning the ball over against a team, [you don’t want to let them] on the fast break, especially [since] they shoot 3-pointers on the fast break. I think that was the key to the game.”

(On needing to finish the season strong):
“From now on every game is important, especially now with 12 games left. We have to kind of stick with what we did before. Losing streaks come up, and we have to play smarter. Like I said, from this point every game is going to count. I understand we have a lot of injuries going around, but no matter who’s playing, they have to get the responsibility to come up and give 100 percent.”

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Game Quotes: Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks - Mar. 22

Listen to Radio Play-by-Play announcer John Michael's Call of the Game during the Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks game on March 22, 2015. J.R. Smith get the steal and throws the alley-oop to LeBron James who finishes with a monster tomahawk slam.

Escucha a la voz en español de los Cavaliers Rafa "El Alcalde" con la narración de la jugada del partido entre Los Cavaliers de Cleveland y Los Bucks de Milwaukee en El BMO Harris Bradley Center de Milwaukee, WI  el 22 de Marzo del 2015. Los Cavs derrotaron a Los Bucks 108-90 con una gran actuación en la segunda mitad liderados por Jr Smith y LeBron James. Ambos jugadores se conectaron fenomenalmente en la jugada del partido con una genial asistencia de JR para el Alley-Oop del Rey.

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Call of the Game: Cavs at Milwaukee Bucks - Mar. 22

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Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks - March 22, 2015

clenadams

The Cavaliers will go for their seventh win in eight games when they square off with the Milwaukee Bucks today for the third of four regular season matchups. Tipoff is at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Cleveland (45-26) leads the Central Division and is the 2nd-best record in the Eastern Conference. After Friday’s win over Indiana, the Cavaliers clinched a playoff berth and will be making a postseason appearance for the 19th time in team history.

The Wine and Gold are an NBA-best 26-6 (.813) since Jan. 15. During this stretch, the Cavs rank 1st in points per game differential (+10.6), 1st in three-pointers made (373), 2nd in field goal percentage (.470), 3rd in points per game (107.9) and 4th in three-point percentage (.382). Defensively since that time, the Cavs are 10th in opp. field goal percentage (.434), 5th in opp. three-point percentage (.327) and 11th in opp. points per game (97.3).

The Cavs have won 22 of the last 23 games when scoring at least 100 points and are 36-5 when hitting the century mark in scoring this season.

Milwaukee (34-35) enters tonight's contest having lost five straight and 12 of 15. The Bucks currently hold the sixth seed in the East and have fallen six games back of fifth-seeded Washington Wizards.

Tune into FOX Sports Ohio with #CavsLive at 2:30PM.

WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega, AM 1590 WAKR (Akron)

Get into the conversation with other die-hards.

Probable Starters/Status Update*presented by Cleveland Clinic

Status Update: Anderson Varejao, (Left Achilles Tendon Rupture, Out)

Bucks: PG - Michael Carter-Williams, SG - Khris Middleton, SF - Giannis Antetokounmpo PF - Ersan Ilyasova, C - Zaza Pachulia

Status Update: (Bucks) - O.J. Mayo, (Sore Right Hamstring, Out), Jabari Parker, (Left Knee ACL Injury, Out), Jared Dudley, (Back Spasms, Out), Damien Inglis, (Post-surgery Right Ankle, Out)

In his only meeting with the Bucks this season, Kevin Love posted 27 points on 10-16 (.625) shooting, including 4-8 (.500) from long range, and a game-high 11 rebounds in 40 minutes during the Dec. 2nd victory for the Cavs.

In 12 career games against the Bucks, Kyrie Irving is shooting .517 from the field, .389 from the three-point line and .928 from the foul line, while averaging 25.3 points, which is his 4th-highest scoring average against an NBA team.

The Cavs trail the all-time series against the Bucks 82-115 (51-48 Home, 31-66 Road).

TV: FOX Sports Ohio, Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega, AM 1590 WAKR (Akron)

Tune into #CavsLive on FOX Sports Ohio starting at 2:30 p.m.

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike, @chones22, @FSOAllieOop and @ElalcaldeRafa on Twitter.

After tonight's game, the Wine and Gold will continue their road trip in Memphis when they take on the Grizzlies on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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GameDay Preview: Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks

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It’s back on the road for the Wine and Gold, who play the next three away from The Q before closing out the season with six of their final eight at home. (One of Cleveland’s final two road games is at the Bradley Center on April 8.)

As it stands today, Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed, 1.5 games ahead of Miami. For the Bucks, the regular season can’t end fast enough as they continue to hold on to a playoff spot despite going 4-12 since the All-Star Break, including five straight losses heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Cavs.

The Wine and Gold, on the other hand, has been the hottest team in the league since mid-January and has won six of seven since falling to the Conference leading-Hawks two weeks ago. Cleveland has been locked in the East’s second playoff seed for some time now – 1.5 games up on the Bulls.

For much of Friday night’s home contest against the Pacers, it was an old-school battle of the bigs between Timofey Mozgov and Roy Hibbert. On Sunday, it's Moz vs. Zaza Pachulia.

The 12th-year big is the only Buck starter not averaging double-figure scoring, but he’s the squad’s second-leading rebounder and he’s been on a good roll heading into Sunday’s matchup – notching double-figure scoring in his last six games, doubling-up in four of those contests – including a 22-point, 21-rebound, 7-assist game on Friday night in Brooklyn.

Mozgov’s been just as good over that span, averaging 13.3 points over his last seven, shooting .602 from the floor.  The Bucks also bring plenty of length off the bench, with John Henson – who’s blocked at last one shot in 40 of the 53 games he’s played. The Cavs counter with Tristan Thompson, who’s been the top-rebounding reserve for most of the season.

It should be an entertaining battle of the bigs on Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center.

No team in the Eastern Conference has a one-two forward punch like the Cavs’ duo of LeBron James  and Kevin Love. But Milwaukee has a pair of young, long frontcourt players – Giannis Anteokounmpo and Ersan Ilyasova – who can be pretty dynamic themselves. The Greek Freak, who doesn’t turn 21 until next December, has been putting up numbers for a young player that haven’t been seen since LeBron tormented the league as a 20-year-old. And Ilyasova, since being inserted into the starting lineup in late February, has notched double-figures in 12 of 13 games, averaging 13.8 over that span.

For the Cavs, LeBron is coming off another strong game – netting 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win while Kevin Love doubled-up for the second straight game in that home victory over Indiana.

The Bucks duo has the length and youth, but the Cavs’ tandem has the hardware and experience. It’ll all get sorted out on Sunday.

As previously mentioned, the Bucks have one of the longest teams in the league. None of their three frontline players is shorter than 6-10. But they also have a pair of big backcourt guys in Khris Middleton (6-7) and Michael Carter-Williams (6-6).

MCW’s numbers are down a bit from his Rookie of the Year season one year ago, but he still comes into Sunday’s matchup as Milwaukee’s leading scorer (14.7 ppg) and playmaker (7.0 apg). Carter-Williams struggled mightily in his last matchup against Cleveland – going 1-for-9 from the floor in a February 2 loss at The Q while still with the Sixers. But he’s also had huge games against the Cavs – including a 33-point outburst last season and a pair of 13-assist performances.

Kyrie Irving, the Eastern Conference’s reigning Player of the Week, didn’t have his A-game on Friday night at The Q – finishing with 13 points on 4-for-16 shooting – but he’s bounced back nicely all year, and Kyrie’s not the type of player who’s held down in two straight games.

The Bucks love to use their length, youth and athleticism to disrupt opponents and no team in the league causes more turnovers (17.03) than Jason Kidd’s squad.

Heading into the holidays, the Bucks were near the bottom of the NBA defensively. But since the calendar year turned to 2015, the Bucks have jumped to second in defensive rating and fourth in points scored. And Milwaukee loves to run off turnovers, ranking near the top of the league in fast break points. The Cavs have been good with taking care of the ball, committing just nine miscues in their Friday night win at The Q and averaging just over 13 per contest over their last seven.

Cleveland’s offense has been as dynamic as any in the Eastern Conference since mid-January, but they’ll face a tough test on Sunday afternoon. The Cavs will have to continue taking care of the ball as they prepare for the postseason in which every possession is critical.

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Five Keys: Cavaliers at Bucks - March 22, 2015

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