LeBron-less Cavaliers fall to Milwaukee 92-85
For several stretches during the game, it looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers might have what it takes to beat one of the hottest teams in the NBA without LeBron James. Unfortunately, poor shooting plagued the Cavs at several positions, and the Milwaukee Bucks won their 9th out of 10 games 92-85.
Five Bucks scored in double figures, led by Brandon Jennings' 25 points.
Milwaukee moved into a tie for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with the win.
Antawn Jamison led all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting, but had no shot attempts in the fourth quarter as the Cavs struggled to get him the ball at any point on the court. Delonte West was the only other Cav in double figures, as he poured in 27 points of his own on 11-of-18 shooting.
As for Cavalier players not named Antawn or Delonte, it was a night to forget. The rest of the team combined to go 12-for-40 from the field (30 percent). Mo Williams earned the futility award for the night, shooting just 3-for-17 from the floor (18 percent)
Much like the previous night against Detroit, nothing went well early on for the Cavaliers. Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee's 7-foot center, was having his way inside against a much smaller (and less experienced) J.J. Hickson. Bogut rattled off 7 points and four rebounds in the opening quarter, and set the tone for an opening stanza that ended with the Bucks on top 25-14.
Of course, it didn't help much that the Cavs shot just 6-for-21 (29%) from the floor in the quarter. Williams missed all five of his attempts, and Cleveland had four turnovers to go with 6 field goals and two assists.
All that turned around in the second period. Delonte West led the turn-around by scoring 10 straight points to begin a 15-0 run that gave the Cavaliers their first lead of the game at 33-31. The Cavs shot 8-9 from the floor to open the quarter, which was amplified by a 7:20 drought in which Milwaukee did not score a single field goal.
Antawn Jamison, despite a nightmarish half from the free throw stripe (1-for-5), poured in 15 points by himself in the second quarter, giving him 20 points and 6 rebounds in the first half.
Jamison and West combined for 27 straight Cavaliers points over a span of nearly 15 minutes in the half, but they were far from finished with their streak.
In the third quarter, Jamison and West combined for another 16 points, but the Cavaliers' overall effort was still lacking at times. Three straight possessions with turnovers hurt Cleveland as the Bucks burst out to another 13-point lead. The quarter ended with Milwaukee up 8 points, 69-61.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the two teams basically traded baskets. The lead swelled to 15 points for Milwaukee at one point, but it usually stayed within the 8-11 point range.
The Cavs have Sunday off before returning home for San Antonio. At this point, there is no word on whether or not James will play against the Spurs. If he decides to rest another game, it will equal a week off for the King. After San Antonio, Cleveland will not play again until they travel to Philadelphia Friday night.
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Two things I learned from tonight:
1. We needlessly, and quite stupidly in my personal opinion, lost this game tonight.
2. LeBron looks absolutely terrible in gaudy earrings. (Then again, most dudes do.)
1. Lebron is hurt. You can’t see him, limping?!?
2. THAT’S needles, IMO.
by johnnyphoenix on Mar 7, 2010 6:11 AM CST up reply actions
yes and what I learned is that:
1. The jamison move was great
2. There are members of the team who can step it up when needed…just not mo yet. If he can find his grove, I will feel much more confident.
3. For all the mediocre play on the court, what I learned is that without lebron, we lost a hard-fought, close game on the road, to one of the hotter teams in the league, who also has decent talent.
i was happy to see delonte and antawn step up
but i was upset no one else did. but what do you expect when you lose 2 starters and a key bench guy (lebron, shaq, Z). and what happened to mo. he doesnt look like the same guy he was last year
mo cant defend, cant penetrate, has been inconsistent with his shot, and averages only 5 assists per game. not a lot of good attributes for a starting point guard.
Via Mo Williams’ twitter.
He has been decent at times and truly terribad at times since returning from the shoulder injury. Boobie Gipson needs some minutes right now while Mo sorts his game out.
"My signature is only one line. You're welcome."
At least he knows he cost his team the game
Gibson isn’t getting any minutes. He can’t play right now due to “personal issues”.
Twitter is what it is…TALK. Right now Mo is all talk. Great guy, shitty game.
Mo is killing them right now.
by johnnyphoenix on Mar 7, 2010 6:13 AM CST up reply actions
Disppointed also....however
just came across Tony Parket Stat, it’s just like Mo., so …it will good to see more assists in nights that he doesn’t shoot well, 5 assists is not a bad number, just want to point this out.
Mo
1st coach Brown needs to get his head outa his ARS ! When boobie is back better start playin him more. Back court sucks. Mo & parker arent the answer, They’ddobetter withGibson & west runnin the show. At least they can play D & move the ball and make shoots. Mo & Parker’s D is much to be desired. All Mo wants is to shot Only had 5 assists the hole game. Hell even Andy had 3 assists from your center. Tired of hearing bout JJ. He’s got potential yes, but watch him, he only really hustle on offense & of late cant even hold on to the ball. 1pt wow ! If he’s sogood then why does A ndy play more? Cuz he plays D & makes things happen just as West does. These are kind of layers that help you win ! Cavs got to move the ball more and throw to the cutters like Lebron does. Like Moon but he’s more for D not offense. Green would be good to get more min. & get Parker on bench where he belongs. Greens young but talented but has to play tog et better & learn. Coach better get it right Or he’s going to help blow the playoffs
by micksgol52@yahoo.com on Mar 7, 2010 10:36 AM CST up reply actions
I agree. Parker is a good 3rd guard but not a starter on a championship caliber team. And if he is going to log so many minutes he needs to take more than 5-6 shots a game. 5-10 ppg aint cutting it.
Why not bring Mo of the bench for awhile? Let him play against the second teams. Regardless, his minutes need to go down until he shows some consistency again.
West must really be a headcase if at this point he can’t be trusted to play more minutes. Even if this is the case, I’d challenge him to do so.
by kingcrimson2 on Mar 7, 2010 11:46 AM CST up reply actions
They’re roadkill so it’s not to big of a deal.
by johnnyphoenix on Mar 7, 2010 6:15 AM CST up reply actions
Maybe they win one game if they face us.
by johnnyphoenix on Mar 7, 2010 6:16 AM CST up reply actions
brandon jennings
yeah, i thought he was just a little too cocky. while lebron certainly does his fair share of dancing, he is the reigning mvp and is a 6-year nba veteran with multiple all-star game mvp awards, 4 trips to the playoffs and a scoring title to his credit. meanwhile, jennings is a mere rookie who didn’t even go to college and is on a team that is fighting for a bottom tier playoff spot for the first time in what 4 or 5 years? and what was up with his hair? even dennis rodman would say that his hair looked stupid.
Pretty sure I heard on ESPN that LeBron’s out vs. Spurs. What are the chances we can beat them without LeBron?
decent if Richard Jefferson continues to underwelm
because I couldn't go for 3...
by SouthBayBuckeye on Mar 7, 2010 7:18 PM CST up reply actions





















