The Cleveland Cavaliers did not have any better luck when facing the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in as many nights.
It turns out getting an instant chance for redemption did not turn out any better for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After losing 123-105 on Friday, the Cavs were not able to change their fortunes on Saturday as they lost 124-99 to Milwaukee. It was the second straight double-digit loss at home to the Bucks and one thing is abundantly clear if it wasn’t before, the Cavaliers are not ready yet.
The rematch essentially followed the same pattern as the first game. It was close through halftime, but Milwaukee extended their lead to double-digits midway through the 3rd. After that, the Bucks ran away with a 25-point win after at one point leading by 30.
There are two areas that instantly jump out for the Cavaliers, turnovers and three-point shooting. Cleveland lost the turnover battle 15-9, 10 of which were steals by the Bucks. A team like the Cavs cannot afford to commit that many turnovers and expect to be in the game. As far as three-point shooting goes, Friday’s 11 makes from deep might be the anomaly. The Cavs went 6-28 from three while Milwaukee was 16-34, that’s a 30-point difference, more than the the final score differential.
Darius Garland is a steady presence
If there is one thing to takeaway from this game it is that Darius Garland is steady as stead can be. The Cavaliers guard just seems to give a similar performance game in and game out. Garland had 17 points and 9 assists on 7-12 from the field (1-5 3PT), and made both free throw attempts. While the wins are not frequent right now, when they do come he will be a big reason why.
Double-double Drummond
A bright spot for the Cavaliers Saturday was that Andre Drummond had a pretty impressive night. Drummond finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals on the night. Drummond’s 28 points were a game-high and was tied for a game-high in rebounds. This was the 17th double-double for Drummond on the season in 22 games played.
Prince pours in 12
Taurean Prince might be the best bench player for the Cavs not named Jarrett Allen. Prince moved back to the bench as Larry Nance Jr. returned to the lineup and scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (2-3 3PT) and also had 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
