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Photo: Morry Gash/AP
With 4:36 left in the first quarter, the Cavaliers trailed the Bucks 17-10 after originally trailing 11-0. That's when the Cavaliers decided to do a little deer hunting. The Cavaliers put a 29-0 spot on the stunned Bucks who trailed by 22 at the end of the run and never came close to recovering from it. The Cavaliers moved to 15-5 with another fantastic team effort and another sub-20 point effort from LeBron James.
Take a med-kit to the Moon: Jamario Moon missed today's game with a groin strain, and he is listed as day-to-day for the Cavaliers' next game on Tuesday in Memphis. The Bucks were without traditional Cavalier killer and Buckeye Michael Redd, who has been held to just five games so far this season.
Is it game time already?: With the odd 3:00 PM start (2:00 PM local), the Cavaliers looked a little stiff at first. They were scoreless for the first three minutes of the game, missing four shots before a Mo Williams jumper ended the drought. The Cavaliers were 4-for-11 from the field when the big run began. Meanwhile, Milwaukee made seven of its first nine shots, and the normally football-hungry Milwaukee fans were enjoying their Sunday afternoon early.
Hot sauce in his bag: Delonte West is wildly unpredicatable. He's a menace to the team. They should just cut their losses and move on without him. That is certainly how some Cavalier fans feel when it comes to the troubled guard. But, games like today are why you absolutely CANNOT give up on this guy. He's too valuable to this team, and he may very well be their third best player when he's right. You can't just replace a guy like him.
Today, things were great in Delonteland, so the Cavaliers subbed him in with 2:18 to go in the first quarter. When LeBron and Mo went to the bench, Delonte flipped a switch and went into takeover mode. West was the only player on either team to score for over four and a half minutes to start the second. In that time, Delonte shot 4-of-4 from the field and converted all six free throw attempts. He converted two and-ones and attacked the basket at will as Milwaukee had no answer for him. The Cavaliers shutout the Bucks for nearly eleven and a half minutes, and the lineup of West, Daniel Gibson, Anthony Parker, Anderson Varejao, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas outscored the Bucks 18-2 in the first seven minutes of the second quarter with Mo, Shaq, and LBJ sitting all the while. The Cavaliers led by 19 at the break.
Twin tower foul trouble: Both Shaq and Z picked up two first quarter fouls, and after some nice aggressive post moves and eight quick points from O'Neal in the second quarter, he picked up his third foul. Consequently, Z started in his place coming out of the half.
3 PG look gives Bucks spark: The Bucks got a tiny run going when they went with a three point guard look consisting of rookie sensation Brandon Jennings, Luke Ridnour, and Roko Ukic. Jennings had 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, but he needed 22 shots to do so, making nine of them. Ridnour, who likes to play well against the Cavaliers, and Ukic each added 7 points. The Bucks only picked up a few points in the exchange though, cutting the lead to 16 mid-fourth quarter.
Balance at its best: The Cavaliers had five guys in double figure scoring: West (21), James (14), Williams (13), Hickson (11), and O'Neal (10). What is even more impressive is that their bench scored 45 points, their third 40-point effort this week, and they did it without Moon.
Mighty nice change of pace: The Cavaliers currently rank 26th in the association when it comes to free-throw percentage. Granted, the Cavaliers were near the bottom of that category last season, but the addition of Shaq certainly hasn't helped that. But, today, the Cavaliers shot 25-of-27 from the foul line (93%), and that is largely due to West, who was 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. The Cavaliers with their aggressiveness in attacking the hoop shot just 10 three pointers, making six of them. It's nice to know the Cavaliers can hit the three pointer at the clip they do when they need it, but this team is so much more dynamic when Mo, Delonte, and LeBron are creating with dribble penetration.
 goes to: Delonte West. Planes, trains, automobiles. He doesn't care. He's got to have his donuts! West got his donuts tonight with a 6-for-9 shooting effort for his 21 points, adding 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in just 24 minutes. The wine and gold were +24 with him on the court.
Team Grade: A-
The free throw shooting and effort to get to the foul line were something fantastic that I hope the Cavaliers take away from this game. When their shot is not falling, they need to go to the hoop and create. Cleveland won the board battled 48-38, and they had another 20-plus assist evening (21 on 35 field goals). They also held the Bucks to 38% shooting. The one blemish for the Cavaliers was the 18 turnovers.
The Cavaliers head on to game two of the three-game road trip in Memphis on Tuesday night to take on the Grizz.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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