MIL

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Bucks-Cavaliers Preview

By KEVIN MASSOTH
Posted Nov 19 2015 12:18PM

While the rest of the NBA has presented no problems for the Cleveland Cavaliers, their own division is causing them trouble.

The Cavaliers will try to avoid their third straight loss to a Central opponent Thursday night when the Milwaukee Bucks visit for a second meeting in six days - and with Jabari Parker ready to play.

All three of Cleveland's losses have come within the division, including back-to-back road defeats against the Bucks on Saturday and Detroit on Tuesday. The Cavaliers beat Indiana at home Nov. 8 for their only divisional victory.

Cleveland (8-3) had allowed an average of 93.9 points during an eight-game winning streak before its 108-105 loss to Milwaukee - though it came in double overtime - and a 104-99 defeat against the Pistons.

The Cavs, who had a combined 35 turnovers in the losses, won the Central last season with an 11-5 division mark.

"We are too relaxed and too nice," LeBron James said after the loss in Detroit. "We need to get tougher, but I'm not talking about being an iron man. You have to be mentally tough, and that means performing at the best of your abilities at all times. We've got some guys who do that all the time, and some guys who don't."

James is doing his part, averaging 31.5 points, 6.5 assists and 6.3 rebounds in the last six games while shooting 51.9 percent, including 41.9 from 3-point range.

While James and Kevin Love flourished offensively against the Bucks with 61 combined points on 21-of-45 shooting, their teammates shot 34.8 percent (16 of 46).

The struggles went across the board, but the worst offenders were J.R. Smith (4 of 14) and Mo Williams (2 of 8). Smith eclipsed 50 minutes against the Bucks and has logged nearly 87 in the last two with guards Kyrie Irving (knee) and Iman Shumpert (wrist) out.

The Bucks (5-6) seemed to get a bit healthier against the Cavs with Parker playing just his fifth game of the season. He posted season highs with 12 points and 30 minutes - a sign that he might be returning to form after having offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL which forced him to miss the final 57 games of his rookie season.

However, an MRI on Monday revealed a sprain in his right foot, and he was initially ruled out for Milwaukee's three-game trip. Parker, though, met up with the Bucks in Cleveland, and coach Jason Kidd said hours before tip-off that he would start this game after sitting out Tuesday in Washington.

"It's not a serious injury," Kidd said Tuesday. "The things that he's done at this point, it's all right for him to be sore."

The Bucks also said O.J. Mayo should make his season debut after the veteran guard had been sidelined by a strained right hamstring.

Milwaukee could use both Parker and Mayo after stumbling through a 115-86 loss to the Wizards, shooting 43.1 percent while committing 19 turnovers. It was the Bucks' worst loss of the season and third defeat in four games after winning four in a row.

"We're not a secret," Kidd said. "We're not a surprise as last year, and that means teams are going to prepare for you and you can't have any mental breakdowns. For a young team, we're still a long ways away from the mental side of our game being at the level of the best teams in this league."

Cleveland had won four in a row in the series at Quicken Loans Arena before a 96-80 loss Dec. 31 in the most recent meeting there.

James, Love lead Cavaliers past Bucks, 115-100

By STEVE HERRICK
Posted Nov 20 2015 12:27AM

CLEVELAND (AP) The Cleveland Cavaliers are apparently good listeners.

After LeBron James and coach David Blatt questioned their toughness following two straight losses, the Cavaliers looked more like the best team in the Eastern Conference on Thursday night.

James scored 27 points, and Kevin Love added 22 points and 15 rebounds in a 115-100 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

"This is how we need to play," James said. "There's no ifs ands or buts. I think we answered the call on what we talked about. We're just trying to get better."

Blatt gave credit to the players.

"It's not about what I said, it's about what they did," Blatt said. "I thought those guys came with a real purpose tonight. You saw it on them. You saw it in their approach. We were sharp and we were aggressive and we were physical and we were pretty tough."

J.R. Smith added 18 points to help the Cavaliers improve to an East-best 9-3.

Cleveland avenged a double-overtime loss in Milwaukee on Saturday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 33 points for Milwaukee, and the Bucks rallied from a 21-point deficit in the second quarter to cut the lead to 84-79 late in the third.

Anderson Varejao, who came off the bench to score nine points, helped Cleveland build the lead to 97-84. James scored six points and Love had a three-point play in that stretch.

Antetokounmpo was 12 of 15 from the field and made all eight of his free throws. Greg Monroe scored 17 points, and Khris Middleton added 15 for Milwaukee.

After losing to the Bucks on Saturday, Cleveland blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter Monday night in a loss to Detroit.

James set the tone early when he tore a rebound away from Antetokounmpo and went up for an easy basket.

Cleveland used a 27-11 run to take a 63-42 lead late in the second quarter. The Bucks cut into the lead throughout the third quarter, but the Cavaliers regrouped.

Jabari Parker returned after missing a game because of a sprained right foot and scored 14 points.

Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams missed the game because of a sore right leg and center Timofey Mozgov strained his right shoulder in the second quarter and didn't return.

"One thing you can't control is injuries but one thing you can control is how you play with the guys who are out there," James said. "We got a huge boost from Andy. We expect that out of him."

Bucks coach Jason Kidd was disappointed his team couldn't finish off the comeback.

"This is kind of what happened in Washington," he said. "We cut it to two or five points, then the floodgates opened for them."

Milwaukee had a franchise-low 22 rebounds.

UP TO THE CHALLENGE

Kidd gave Antetokounmpo the challenge of going head-to-head with James and Love for most of the game.

"As a young player, I like to take the challenge, but I don't want to just talk about me," Antetokounmpo said. "We've got to focus more on our defense. At home, we won against the best team in the world. The other night was like a playoff atmosphere."

James is impressed with the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo, who scored 16 points against the Cavaliers in Milwaukee.

"He's a guy who has that size and that speed and that length," James said. "I think J-Kidd does a great job of putting him in lineups where he can have mismatches. He's all over the floor."

BETTER AT THE STRIPE

The Cavaliers were 24 of 30 from the foul line after entering the game 29th in the league in free throw percentage.

TIP-INS

Bucks: O.J. Mayo made his season debut after missing the first 11 games because of a strained right hamstring. ... Michael Carter-Williams picked up his fifth foul late in the third quarter and played 27 minutes, scoring nine points. .... The game was televised nationally by TNT, marking Milwaukee's first regular-season appearance on the network in 13 years.

Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson played in his 300th consecutive game, the second-longest streak in the league. .... Matthew Dellavedova started at point guard and had a career-high 13 assists and three turnovers in 38 minutes.

UP NEXT

Bucks: Visit Indiana on Saturday night.

Cavaliers: Host Atlanta on Saturday night.

• Bucks: Ennis, Inglis
• Cavaliers: Irving, Shumpert

• Bucks: Middleton
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #7 Lauren Holtkamp, #16 David Guthrie
• Attendance: 20562
• Duration: 2:28