Recap: Milwaukee vs. Cleveland
Sports Network | November 29, 2008
Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - LeBron James scored 32 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 97-85 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas contributed a season-high 23 points and 17 rebounds for the Cavs, who have won five straight to move to 14-3. Mo Williams added 13 points, and Anderson Varejao recorded nine points and eight rebounds in the win.
Michael Redd, in his first game back after missing the last 14 with a sprained ankle, scored a team-high 20 points on 5-of-16 shooting in 35 minutes for the Bucks, who have lost four in a row. Richard Jefferson scored 19 points, while Ramon Sessions had 16 points and eight assists. Luke Ridnour contributed 15 points in the loss.
Down by five headed into the fourth, Ridnour hit a jumper after a steal to bring the Bucks within two with 8 1/2 minutes to play. Ridnour hit a three to make it 79-77, but Sasha Pavlovic answered with a three of his own with 5:43 to play to restore a five-point cushion for Cleveland.
James' layup with four minutes left gave the Cavs an 88-81 advantage, and Jefferson committed a charge on the other end to give the ball back to Cleveland. James promptly hit a three, and the Cavs never looked back from there.
The Cavaliers led by as many as eight points in the first quarter, but Milwaukee closed the gap toward the end. Cleveland led, 20-16, after the opening frame.
Ilgauskas led all scorers in the first half with 14, and the Cavs took a 10- point lead, 48-38, to the locker room at halftime.
Cleveland jumped out to a 16-point lead behind a 6-0 run to start the third, but the Bucks used an 11-4 run and a 8-2 run to close the gap to five by the end of the frame.
Cleveland has won 10 of the last 13 meetings with the Bucks...Milwaukee has lost seven of nine...The Cavs lead the season series, 2-0.
