With the playoffs right around the corner, the Milwaukee Bucks are looking to secure the Eastern Conference’s number six seed and another victory would put them within reach of that goal.
However, they must face the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers, winners of 11 of 13, who are looking to wrap up the Central Division title and the second seed in the playoffs with a win in Milwaukee Wednesday.
The Cavs have come a long way since January 13 when they were sub-.500 and seven games behind division-leading Chicago. Since that time, though, they have gone an NBA-best 31-7, including a 99-94 victory the Chicago Bulls Sunday, their 18th straight home win.
The Cavs made 16 three-pointers, and LeBron James recorded his first triple-double since his return to Cleveland with 20 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds and Kyrie Irving poured in 27.
Cleveland all but clinched the Central division with the victory, taking a commanding four-game lead with five games left and nabbing the season series tiebreaker with Chicago.
As for the Bucks, they lost to a struggling Orlando team, 97-90, at home Saturday night as former Buck Tobias Harris had 23 on 8 for 15 shooting, including five treys, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and Victor Oladipo chipped in with 15.
The Bucks had a 73-72 advantage going into the fourth and after the lead changed sides several times, the Magic grabbed a 94-90 lead with less than two minutes left on back-to-back three-pointers by Harris and Oladipo. Ersan Ilyasova finished with 18 points and Khris Middleton contributed with 15.
Milwaukee would have just a one-game advantage with a loss tonight as Brooklyn beat Atlanta, and the way things have gone, the Bucks would rather play the third seed instead of Cleveland.
James has been Milwaukee’s nemesis as he has won 11 consecutive against them when on the court. The Bucks lone victory this season over the Cavs happened when James was sidelined.
It is imperative that all the Bucks play at a solid, consistent level if they are to knock off the Cavs especially Michael Carter-Williams, who is shooting poorly at 33.8 percent over his last seven games.
Another point of emphasis is three-point shooting as the Bucks are among the worst in the NBA at 5.7 made per game while Cleveland is at the top at 12.4. In fact, Irving is 7 for 12 from three-point range in the past two games while Smith was 8 of 17 for 24 points Sunday.
Three-pointers also played a significant role in the most recent matchup between Milwaukee and Cleveland as J.R. Smith had 23 points on 7 for 9 from downtown while James had a double-double with 28 points and 10 rebounds in the 108-90 win on March 22. Carter-Williams had 19 points and five assists but six turnovers while Giannis Antetokounmpo totaled 15 and nine boards.
As far as injuries, Anderson Varejao is out for Cleveland and Jabari Parker and Damien Inglis are out for Milwaukee.