Cavs lose second straight, falling to Bucks 115-105
BY JEREMY SOMERVILLE
STAFF
There was no wine and gold magic.
No Mr. Fourth Quarter.
Nobody to stop Drew Gooden.
Drew Gooden's had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists, for his second career triple-double, Ersan Illyasova scored 22, as the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks (20-24) shut down the Cleveland Cavaliers (16-26) at the Bradley Center Wednesday night.
For the Cavs, it was all downhill after the first quarter.
After ending the first leading 28-23 the Cavs allowed the Bucks to score 34 points in the second quarter to find themselves in a 57-55 hole at the half.
Though the scoreboard showed the Cavaliers only down two, the way the team went in to the locker room, their body language, and there play made it seem as if they were down by ten times that number.
Cleveland came out of the locker room, showing signs of life early in the third quarter but the Bucks had an answer for everything the Cavs did, as Milwaukee closed out the quarter with a 84-78 lead.
But we've seen this before. The Cavs struggle for three quarters, then the bench makes an early run to start the fourth, and Kyrie "Mr. Fourth Quarter" Irving comes back in after a short rest, to close out the game.
Right?
Unfortunately, for Cleveland sports fans, tonight wasn't that night.
Irving did score 10 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth, but it was to little to late.
The Bucks started the final stanza on a 6-0 run, doubling their lead to 12, capped by an Illyasova lay in with 9:51 remaining to make it 90-78.
Irving did his best to keep his team in the game, completing a three point play with 5:24 left to draw Cleveland within 11, but the game was already decided.
Milwaukee continued to score at will, stretching the lead to as much as 15, before the Cavaliers drained some garbage time three's to pull the score to a closer 115-105 final.
The win gives the Bucks their fourth in a row.
The Cavaliers are off until Sunday, when they return home for a 3 p.m. tip against the Atlanta Hawks.
Notes: Guard Ramon Sessions, who may have played his final game in wine and gold, had a very rough night. He went 0-8 from the field, scoring only 2 points, but did dish out six assists. His name has been linked to at least three teams and will likely be dealt by tomorrow's NBA trade deadline...Antawn Jamison, who has also been linked to multiple teams in trade rumors also struggled, shooting 4-15 for 13 points...The Bucks, who acquired Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh from Golden State on Tuesday, where without their two new additions, but are expected to have them for their next game...With the win, the Bucks are now ahead of the Cavs in the Eastern Conference playoff race, which has three teams, the Cavs, Bucks, and the New York Knicks, battling for the final seed
jsomerville@lakecounty-sentinel.com or follow Jeremy on Twitter @CTownSportsTalk
POSTED 03/15/2012 01:34