Winter rerun
Defensive lapse costs Bucks again
CLEVELAND - The Milwaukee Bucks made it through three quarters Monday night in Cleveland without the kind of devastating lapse that has haunted them, especially against playoff-caliber teams. They had given up a momentum-shifting 10-0 run late in the second quarter, but they never trailed by double digits and remained in striking distance.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Bucks trailed by eight after trading spurts in the third. With LeBron James on the bench, Milwaukee had a chance to make things competitive with multiple starters, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the court.
However, it quickly became clear that there would be no comeback. It took less than three minutes for the Cavaliers’ second unit to build a 14point margin, and the Bucks didn’t threaten again in a 124-117 loss at Quicken Loans Arena.
“It did hurt us a lot,” said Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks with 37 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. “They had the second unit in and that was the chance for us to get some easy points and make a run but we didn’t.
“They made the run and then you’ve got the starters coming back in, you’ve got LeBron coming back in and it’s
tough now. We did a good job to keep playing hard, keep moving the ball and keep being into the game. We never gave up.”
There was no singular aspect to Milwaukee’s defeat and none of the parts were especially surprising. This loss played out like others we’ve seen before.
Milwaukee’s ongoing stretch of defensive futility continued with the Bucks pushing their streak of giving up 110 points or more to six games. There were missed rotations, players failing to adequately contest shooters and too many drives to the basket when defenders closed out too hard.
It didn’t help that the Bucks continued their season-long inability to grab rebounds, which led to 12 offensive boards and 19 second-chance points for the Cavaliers. It also didn’t help that James was cooking all night long, finishing with 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. And for the first time in a month and a half, he had wingman Kevin Love, who contributed 18 points in his return from a broken left hand.
“I was talking to myself when I was taking a shower and I was like, ‘OK, what did I do wrong today guarding LeBron?’ because he’s the first player that ever scored 40 on me that easy,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s hard; (he’s) a guy that can drive the ball, shoot the ball, especially late in his career now he’s been shooting the ball amazing. He’s getting his teammates in the right spot. He’s the best player in the world. That simple.”
As a team, the Bucks had 15 turnovers, with many coming when they tried to push ahead in transition. There were multiple deflating passes thrown ahead that didn’t find their intended target, including one that bounced off the backboard.
“We want to play with pace, we do want to push the ball,” Bucks coach Joe Prunty said. “I understand when you do that sometimes you will have some turnovers, but that having been said those are ones we can clean up.”
With the loss and a double-overtime win by the Miami Heat, the Bucks slipped back to eighth in the Eastern Conference with 12 games to go and every game gaining more importance as they try to find a way to climb up the standings.
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (37-33) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (37-32).
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center. About the Clippers: The Clippers are reeling with three straight losses heading into a four-game road trip. Their upcoming schedule won’t do them any favors. Los Angeles begins its trip Tuesday with a visit to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves before stopping in Milwaukee on Wednesday. That game against the Bucks will be the Clippers’ fifth in seven days and marks their penultimate game on the second night of a back-to-back this season. To this point, the Clippers are 3-9 on the second leg of a back-to-back.