Cavs 124, Bucks 117: Defensive miscues are too much to overcome

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 14-point margin, and the Bucks didn't threaten again in a 124-117 loss at Quicken Loans Arena.

BOX SCORE: Cavaliers 124, Bucks 117

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“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.

As has often been the case, the Bucks were done in by three-point shooting as the Cavaliers went 15 of 38 from deep (39.5%) while Milwaukee hit just 8 of 31 tries (25.8%) from downtown.

"Overall, I thought it was a good night in terms of, I thought we got good quality shots, I thought we shot a high percentage," Bucks coach Joe Prunty said of his team, which shot 51.1% from the floor. "Obviously, the three-ball was a huge difference tonight in terms of the amount they made versus us."

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.”

On the offensive end, Antetokounmpo was stellar over the final three quarters after being limited to two points in six minutes during the first. Khris Middleton more than picked up the slack in the first, making his first five shots and putting up 12 points. After not so much as attempting a shot in the second, Middleton again caught fire in the third with 25 points. He finished with 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, though his three fourth-quarter shots didn't come until the final three minutes.

“I think one of the things is we do want to get the ball moving," Prunty said of Middleton not getting many shots in the second and fourth quarters. "We did call some plays for him to get him shots and based on the coverage I think he was making the right reads. He never forced anything.”

Outside of those two, though, Milwaukee didn't get enough consistent contributions. Offensively, the rest of the Bucks shot just 40.4% from the field.

Eric Bledsoe put up 13 points, but it took 15 shots and involved going 1 of 8 on three-pointers. The point guard dished out eight assists but also had a team-high five turnovers. Jabari Parker put up 12 points but committed four turnovers and wasn't a positive presence on the defensive end. Tony Snell, Milwaukee's best three-point shooter, went 1 of 7 from long range.

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," 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.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

Shot off the bench: Thon Maker made noise off the bench with 12 points and three steals in 23 minutes. Those contributions included a stretch of six straight points in the second quarter when he threw down an alley-oop and nailed a pair of hook shots in quick succession.

As well as he played, the Bucks struggled on the boards with him in the game. He collected just one rebound, which came with 18.3 seconds left in the contest.

“I thought Thon played an outstanding game and gave us very good minutes whenever he was on the floor," Prunty said. "There was a stretch there with (Ante) Zizic where he got quite a few offensive rebounds, but those were not all attributed to Thon in terms of in a lot of instances he was getting caught in pick-and-roll situations. … Overall I thought Thon was good.”

On the shelf: Malcolm Brogdon (left quadriceps tendon) and Matthew Dellavedova (right ankle sprain) traveled to Cleveland with the Bucks but as they have been since early February the two point guards remained out.

Center Tyler Zeller also missed Monday's game, though his status has been in constant flux. He took a hard foul on March 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers and missed two games after that with a sore back and right hip. He then played in three games before sitting out due to back soreness again Saturday.

On Monday, it was Zeller's ribs that were sore.

“It just doesn’t feel quite right for him, certain movements," Bucks coach Joe Prunty said. "That’s also part of it, contact, a little bit, but more so the movements.”

Lue out: The Cavaliers played without head coach Tyronn Lue, who took a leave of absence beginning Monday to address ongoing health concerns. Former Bucks coach and Cavaliers assistant Larry Drew took over on an interim basis.

"I’ve known T-Lue for a while now and obviously, (my) thoughts are with him," Prunty said. "I don’t know exactly what the circumstances are, but thinking about him and I want him to get back healthy."

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.