Week In Review: Milwaukee Bucks Falter In Toughest Week of Season

Dec 2, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) collides with Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday, Dec. 2: Milwaukee Bucks at Cleveland Cavaliers

Tuesday was Milwaukee’s first meeting against LeBron and the Cavaliers.  The Bucks must have missed the memo on Cleveland being an Eastern Conference favorite.

Milwaukee played Cleveland close for essentially the entire game.  The turning point was with under five minutes left, Milwaukee held a three-point lead before the big three of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and James scored eight straight points to pull away.

Cleveland defeated Milwaukee 111-108.

Brandon Knight led the way with 27 points and eight assists, followed by a solid 22-point and eight-rebound performance from Jabari Parker.

At least the stat line for Jabari was “solid.”  What doesn’t show up on the stat sheet were the flashes of brilliance Parker showed Tuesday night.

What made this outing even more encouraging was how the team responded after Ersan Ilyasova was forced out of the game late in the second quarter with a nasal fracture and mild concussion.

Ersan’s scoring ability is something Milwaukee can’t afford to have without for very long, but Tuesday night the starters stepped up their game despite the loss.

In regards to Ersan’s injury, the Bucks website did not travel with the team for their games against Dallas (Dec. 7) and Oklahoma City (Dec. 9).  More updates will follow.

The loss put Milwaukee at 10-9 on the season.  The Bucks then welcomed the Dallas Mavericks to Milwaukee on Wednesday night.

Next: Home For The Mavs