Notebook: Cavaliers 113, Bucks 108
Brian Dulik, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Jan 26, 2013 12:02 AM - Updated Sat Jan 26, 2013 12:02 AM
THE FACTS: Point guard Kyrie Irving scored 24 of his game-high 35 points in the second half as the Cleveland Cavaliers stunned the Milwaukee Bucks 113-108 at Quicken Loans Arena. Power forward Tristan Thompson added 18 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for Cleveland, which trailed by 20 points midway through the third quarter. Milwaukee small forward Ersan Ilyasova scored a season-high 30 points, while shooting guard Monta Ellis had 21 points, six rebounds and nine assists. The victory gave the Cavaliers their first three-game home winning streak since November 16-27, 2010.
QUOTABLE: "The energy in the whole arena was there tonight. It was fun to watch and fun to be a part of. We just kept crawling back. Once we got back into it, that was basically the game."
-- Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving
THE STAT: The Cavaliers outscored the Bucks 21-5 over the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter -- despite using an all-reserve lineup of center Marreese Speights, power forward Luke Walton, small forward Wayne Ellington, shooting guard Shaun Livingston, and point guard Daniel Gibson. Milwaukee led 90-81 at the start of the period, but trailed 102-95 before Cleveland coach Byron Scott put Irving back into the game with 4:01 left. "I told my guys to thank the second unit," Scott said. "They won the game for us tonight. It's that simple."
TURNING POINT: Ellington grabbed a defensive rebound, then buried a long 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 96-95 with 6:31 remaining in the fourth. Gibson followed with another trey, Livingston added a fast-break layup, and Speights made one free throw to give Cleveland its largest advantage at 102-95. "We started off aggressively, but we kind of gave up the game," Ilyasova said. "Their second unit hustled and we gave up a lot of easy buckets." Milwaukee led 79-59 with 6:04 left in the third, but was outscored 54-29 the rest of the way.
QUOTABLE II: "Their second group did a hell of a job in the fourth quarter. Speights came in and knocked down some big shots. So did Livingston. As a team, they just played great -- everybody -- at the end."
-- Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings
HOT: The Cavaliers' comeback was their largest since rallying from a 21-point deficit to beat Detroit on March 5, 2010. ... Irving is averaging 26.7 points and shooting .557 from the floor in six career games against Milwaukee. ... Livingston scored a season-high 12 points. ... Speights collected 10 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes in his Cleveland debut. ... The Bucks made a season-high 14 3-pointers, led by Ilyasova's 5-for-6 performance. ... Milwaukee's 38 points in the second were their most in a quarter in 2012-2013. ... Ilyasova connected on three 3-pointers in an 89-second span in the second.
NOT: Bucks small forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. made one hoop in 29 minutes, shooting 1-for-6 with three turnovers. (Mike Dunleavy always seems to have good games against us, not this time) ... Jennings didn't score until the third quarter and finished 5-for-19 from the field. His 10 3-point attempts in the second half tied the arena record. ... Milwaukee is the only Central Division team to lose to Cleveland this season. ... Cavaliers shooting guard C.J. Miles was in uniform, but sat out his second straight game with the flu. ... Cleveland is 2-9 within the Central Division. ... Cavaliers small forwards Alonzo Gee and Omri Casspi combined to shoot 1-for-6 with five turnovers in 36 minutes.
QUOTABLE III: "This is a good fit for me. It's a young team. The whole city welcomed me when I came here, and I'm happy to be on a team where fans welcome teamwork." (I like this mindset, too much)
-- Cavaliers center Marreese Speights
GOOD MOVE: Scott modified his policy of making Cavaliers players participate in a practice before being activated. (Good call by Byron, now give us better offensive and defensive sets) He allowed Speights and Ellington to play less than 24 hours after their acquisition from Memphis was finalized by the NBA office. "I didn't want to penalize them because they came here in a trade," Scott explained. "It's not like they were injured and had to prove to me they were healthy." The ex-Grizzlies combined for 11 points, six rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes.
BAD MOVE: Bucks coach Jim Boylan kept savvy veterans Samuel Dalembert, Drew Gooden and Marquis Daniels glued to the bench all evening. :chuckles: The Cavaliers scored 95 points over the final three periods, exposing defensive weaknesses that the aforementioned trio could have prevented. "In the second, third and fourth quarters, we gave (Cleveland) 30-plus points," Boylan said. "They kind of had their way with us. They played well and they deserved to win the game."
NOTABLE: Irving is the sixth-youngest player ever to be named to the NBA All-Star Game. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year was chosen as a reserve by the Eastern Conference coaches on Thursday. ... Cleveland's inactives were point guard Josh Selby (NBA D-League assignment with Canton Charge) and center Anderson Varejao (blood clots in lungs, right knee surgery). Milwaukee's inactives were both healthy scratches in center Joel Przybilla and shooting guard Doron Lamb. ... The Cavaliers picked up Speights, Ellington, Selby and a first-round draft pick from Memphis in exchange for seldom-used power forward Jon Leuer.
