MILWAUKEE -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost their way.
Despite a blistering start, the kind required on the road against one of the league’s title favorites, the Cavs got demolished by the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday night, 113-98.
The Cleveland losing streak is now five after racing to an impressive 8-1 start -- and there are very few signs that the team will snap out of this weeklong malaise any time soon.
For a brief moment, it seemed like Wednesday would be the night.
Sparked by the return of All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, who did not play in Sunday’s loss because of an ankle strain, the Cavs erupted for 37 points in the first quarter, tying a season-high for points in an opening quarter. Mitchell poured in 16 of those, one shy of his highest first-quarter point total during an already stellar career.
With Mitchell cooking, plus key contributions from All-Star backcourt mate Darius Garland and second-year phenom Evan Mobley, Cleveland led for 19 of the first 24 minutes.
But somehow the Cavs went into the halftime locker room trailing by one -- and came out a completely different team. Not in a good way either.
The third quarter was a lopsided destruction, with the Bucks tearing apart a suddenly soft defense that no longer looks like it belongs among the NBA’s elite. The Bucks scored 34 points in the third, hitting 60% from the field and 66.7% from 3-point range. They eventually pushed their lead to a game-high 20 points.
After giving up a whopping 61 to Milwaukee in the first half -- the fifth time in the last six games an opponent has scored at least 60 against the freefalling squad -- Cleveland surrendered 52 in the second half, as Milwaukee started relaxing in the fourth quarter and momentarily allowed the Cavs to crawl back within single digits.
That didn’t last either.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff, miffed with his team’s effort, yanked his regulars with about five minutes remaining, sending in rotational afterthought Raul Neto and two-way players Mamadi Diakite and Isaiah Mobley. The white flag was raised.
“We’re not playing winning basketball right now,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s that simple. We have a formula in place that allows us or will allow us to be successful. Holding each other to that is what we have to do. Right now, we are not.”
Mitchell finished with 23 points. But after hitting five of his first six shot attempts, emphatically announcing his return, Mitchell cooled considerably. He missed 11 of his final 13. He scored just seven points of the final three quarters.
Garland tallied 23 points and eight assists. Mobley had 20 points and seven rebounds. Lamar Stevens, stepping into the starting lineup for the second straight game, added 10 points, five boards and four blocks.
In the days leading up to Wednesday’s high-profile showdown, Bickerstaff spoke about the need for the Cavs to rediscover their defensive identity. It’s the quickest path to stabilization.
Maybe another night.
Without All-Star center -- and defensive linchpin -- Jarrett Allen, the Cavs were helpless at that end of the floor despite the Bucks missing star point guard Jrue Holiday and swingman Khris Middleton, who has yet to make his season debut following offseason wrist surgery. Allen missed the game because of a non-COVID-related illness that kept him from flying with the team. The Cavs were outrebounded 52-34 and outscored 21-6 in second-chance points.
“We’re a defense-first team,” Stevens said. " We need to find that hunger and grit. We just have to hold each other accountable to being at that level because we have shown we are capable of that.”
The strategy going into the game was to slow down perennial MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo by building a wall around the paint and sending extra defenders toward him. The Cavs didn’t believe his teammates could beat them. They were mistaken. The tactic backfired.
Antetokounmpo finished with a season-low 16 points on 6 of 18 from the field in 31 minutes. But he impacted the game in other ways, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out eight assists, repeatedly forcing the Cleveland defense to collapse while looking for kick-outs.
Floor-spacing center Brook Lopez was the primary beneficiary of the extra Giannis attention. Lopez, playing against his twin brother Robin, led the way for Milwaukee with 29 points on 10 of 13 shooting and 7 of 9 from beyond the arc. Jordan Nwora chipped in with 21 points off the bench in 29 minutes.
The Bucks shot 47.7% from the field and canned 16 triples.
In a matchup featuring two of the league’s stingiest teams, defense was nonexistent for one of them. That’s not a winning formula for Cleveland.
“I think we have a fat-cat mentality,” Bickerstaff said. “We went out and won eight games in a row and everyone was giving us love and praising us. We got really comfortable. We are the team that won those eight games. We are a really good basketball team. But this is about maturation and growth from a team as a whole. Not one guy is going to do it. Not two guys are going to do it. Just understanding the difference between being the guy who is chasing and the guy who is being chased and how hard it is to win in the NBA.
“You have to show up every night. We’re still learning that unfortunately.”
Moving up
Kevin Love pulled down seven rebounds during Wednesday’s game, moving him up the franchise’s all-time list. Love passed Cavs legend Zyrdunas Ilgauskas for third place. Love now trails just LeBron James and Brad Daugherty in that category.
Up next
The Cavs will open a four-game homestand on Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Get the latest Cavs merchandise: Here’s where you can order Cleveland Cavaliers gear online, including jerseys, shirts, hats, 2016 NBA Champions products and much more.
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