CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff used the term resilience to describe the team’s six-day trip. They showed it again on Saturday. That alone was not enough.
The undermining Cavaliers, who played without seven players for the second consecutive game, ended their grueling ten-day journey with a 100-90 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Cavs went 2-4 on the longest ride of the season – a respected point given the obstacles they faced throughout.
Saturday night was all Bickerstaff wanted, a chance in the fourth quarter. He asked his team to make it a turbulent, physical and ugly game. If they play against the league’s best rankings, the Cavs are not going to win a game with the highest scoring ladder.
The Cavs dropped 19 points at one point in the first half, falling back to level the game with a 21-2 sprint. But the Bucks responded with a 10-0 run to complete the half and take a lead in the locker room.
The Cavs kept pushing. They made the Bucks – playing without the full-back-ruling MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had a narrow fall the previous night and had back spasms – uncomfortable all night and kept them up to 44% off the field and 33 % 3-point range. They enforced 16 turnovers. Yet they could never get over the hump. Their lone lead came two minutes into the game.
“They gave us what they had tonight,” Bickerstaff said. ‘To ask guys to play heavy minutes, carry heavy burdens, and they scrapped and participated. We just could not produce enough points. I thought our defense was solid, but we just struggled to make a few points and find easy buckets tonight. ‘
Andre Drummond scored 26 points with 24 rebounds in 41 minutes, and this is his tenth game with a double-double to open the season.
‘I think it’s a matter of him as an initiator of power. “If he is the initiator of power, there is no one in this league who can guard him,” Bickerstaff said of Drummond. ‘I think we saw it tonight and against Memphis. If he decides to put his chin down and play with that power, he is unattended. This makes his finishes easier, he needs to get more out of the free throw line. I think there were occasions tonight for some and-one or at least a few whistles he did not get. But if he keeps going, he will get those calls and go even further with the free throw. ‘
Damyean Dotson, who again played out of position at the point guard, scored 21 points and eight assists on a single that was still less than 100 percent. Larry Nance Jr. beat by 17 points. He also added his quartet in his leading rocks.
Milwaukee was led by Khris Middleton, who jumped back from a slow start to a team high of 27 points. Bobby Portis, who starts at the usual spot of Antetokounmpo, finishes with 17 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists.
During the trip, the Cavs rallied against Atlanta and Memphis and showed off their makeup. They dealt with injuries, used unconventional setups and asked more than usual from some guys. Collin Sexton was inactive for his second consecutive game due to a left ankle injury, which left the Cavs two healthy guards, and neither of them is a natural playmaker.
Considering everything they encountered from Cleveland, the Cavs had plenty of built-in excuses. But never used it. They can get on the plane and go back home with their heads held high and their breasts puffed out.
The Cavs quickly become the team Bickerstaff envisioned at the start of the season.
“I feel really good with this team, to be honest with you,” Bickerstaff said. “The things we say that are most important to us kept showing us guys. They are competitive, they are selfless, they are together. We just came across something that is hard to overcome. We put ourselves in position. We obviously had to make some major adjustments going on in terms of the game plan and style of play and that sort of thing. And the guys bought in and gave everything they had. So we continue to play this way, we get well, and we’re going to have a difficult task every night. ”
20-20 clubs
Drummond became the first Cavalier to score a 20-20 game since Anderson Varejao in 2012.
Second chance points
The Bucks entered the game and were sixth in the second chances. They showed why they used their length, athletics and activity to catch up on 11 attacking setbacks, leading to 16 second chances.
Following
The Cavs will return home for the first time in the new year and host the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night. Tipoff is set for 19:00
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