Milwaukee Bucks: Grades From 113-102 Loss to Cleveland Cavaliers
The Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in two nights on Wednesday.
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Cavaliers | 31 | 28 | 33 | 21 | 113 |
| Bucks | 22 | 32 | 23 | 25 | 102 |
After a hard-fought overtime battle in Milwaukee on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers went toe-to-toe again in Cleveland on Wednesday.
The game marked the first return to Cleveland for Matthew Dellavedova since his summer signing with the Bucks, and as such, there was a nice moment pre-game when he was presented with his championship ring.
When the action began, the Cavaliers opened up a big early lead, as they had done in the two previous meetings between the teams this season, before the Bucks gradually reeled them back in.
Jabari Parker was pivotal in keeping the Bucks in with a fighting chance early on, and although he started slow, it wasn’t long before Giannis Antetokounmpo joined the party with another big night too.
Ultimately, the Bucks wilted in the third as the Cavs kicked on behind some continued, ridiculous LeBron James three-pointers, and the game ended in a comfortable win for Cleveland.
But who did the most in their efforts to win this game? Let’s take a look at how the Bucks players graded for the evening,
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Starters
Matthew Dellavedova
G, Milwaukee Bucks
C-Delly will remember this night for the rest of his life having received his championship ring in his Cleveland homecoming, he may not want to think too much about his performance though. Delly had no answer for Kyrie Irving, and couldn’t really offer anything offensively on a night where Milwaukee’s big two desperately needed some help.
Tony Snell
G, Milwaukee Bucks
DTony Snell was similarly anonymous on this occasion, even though the absence of J.R. Smith should have made his night a little bit easier than it ultimately proved to be. Snell made just a single field goal, was pretty ineffective defensively, and ended the night with a team worst plus-minus of -23 in his 20 minutes of action.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
G/F, Milwaukee Bucks
A-For the second night in a row, Giannis was a particularly slow starter. On this occasion though he rallied back with a vengeance, not only coming back to put up an impressive volume of points, rebounds and assists as he did the night before, but doing so efficiently too. The Greek Freak has grown impressively fond of feasting at the free-throw line of late and his 13-14 from the stripe certainly didn’t hurt his case on this occasion. If the Cavs only answer to stopping Giannis and beating the Bucks is having LeBron rain in uncharacteristic three-pointers, I think it’s fair to say this matchup remains one which the Bucks can and should look forward to.
Jabari Parker
F, Milwaukee Bucks
A-Jabari’s fast start has become a staple for the Bucks this season, but it was all the more impressive coming the night after an overtime game in which he played a team-high 46 minutes. Parker was able to bully his way to the rim whenever he wanted, going through Tristan Thompson as if he wasn’t there on a couple of occasions. Add to that a 4-5 shooting night from behind the arc and the emergence of Jabari as a go-to style scorer continues.
John Henson
C, Milwaukee Bucks
CHenson rebounded relatively well in bursts during this game, but overall his performance was so problematic that Miles Plumlee emerged from what was starting to appear to be hibernation. Henson couldn’t get much of anything easy inside and with Tristan Thompson finishing the game with nine offensive boards, none of Henson and his center colleagues exactly covered themselves in glory.Next: Bench
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Bench
Greg Monroe
C, Milwaukee Bucks
C+With eight points and seven boards in his 17 minutes of play, Monroe was at least much more effective than he was on Tuesday night. By the high standards he has set through much of this season, Moose certainly could have offered the Bucks a little bit more in terms of offense off the bench, particularly as Michael Beasley’s scoring punch has been severely missed in the last four games.
Malcolm Brogdon
G, Milwaukee Bucks
A-Brogdon’s performance was right up there with those of Giannis and Jabari, as he did a little of everything on both ends of the floor. In short, Brogdon continues to gives the Bucks exactly what they need. He followed up his night of highlight dunks with a solid 11-point outing, plus a nice mix of seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. The Bucks really did hit the jackpot at 36.
Jason Terry
SG, Milwaukee Bucks
CIn 12 minutes of play Jet managed to dish out two assists, alongside no other notable statistical contributions, but notably finished with a positive plus-minus (+2). Second night of a back-to-back Jet is not going to set the world alight, but at least he was somewhat solid in a period where the game had already really gone past the Bucks.
Mirza Teletovic
F, Milwaukee Bucks
C-With five rebounds, Teletovic rebounded about as well as any Buck on this occasion. What he couldn’t give the team was what they desperately needed, though. With only a single field goal make and no triples in his 19 minutes of play, the Bucks were left dreaming of what a 19-point Teletovic showing could have led to in this game.
Miles Plumlee
C, Milwaukee Bucks
CI mean, he’s alive, I guess? Plumlee managed to be another of the garbage time Bucks to finish with a positive plus-minus, but he also got some burn when the game was at a much more meaningful stage. He did make two of his four field goal attempts, but he also continued to show this habit of attempting ill-advised sky hooks and Dream Shakes. Zero rebounds is not a good look either.
Rashad Vaughn
G, Milwaukee Bucks
B-Another man who hasn’t seen much floor time of late, at the very least Rashad Vaughn did something with his minutes. Back up from the D-League (at least for the moment), Vaughn drilled two three-pointers and also attempted a thunderous dunk that Tristan Thompson just managed to prevent.
Thon Maker
F/C, Milwaukee Bucks
BHe may have only had eight minutes of end of game play, but Thon Maker managed a nice dunk, three rebounds and two blocks, while showing some promising defensive flashes. Sure he may have looked lost in second quarter minutes against the Raptors, but as he continues to learn and get up to pace with the league, these lower intensity garbage time minutes seem to be the perfect setting for him to build confidence and thrive.
Steve Novak
F, Milwaukee Bucks
CSteve Novak played three minutes. Steve Novak grabbed one rebound. If we’re lucky we might see Steve Novak again in early 2017.Next: Jason Kidd
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Head Coach
Jason Kidd
Coach, Milwaukee Bucks
C+Kidd was guilty of being a little slow with changing his lineups around as the Cavs started to open up a lead in the third, but that certainly isn’t the first time that’s happened. He also hooked the starters a little early in the fourth. Ultimately, it wasn’t his fault that he got very little offense from players not named Parker, Antetokounmpo or Brogdon, though. A back-to-back against the Cavs was tough enough without throwing overtime into the mix the night before. It wasn’t good or bad from Kidd, but he must desperately want Beasley back fit and healthy.Next: Cleveland Cavaliers
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Opposition
Cleveland Cavaliers
Central, 21-6
With this loss, the Bucks fell back below the .500 mark for the season, at 13-14. Milwaukee will return to action on Friday for the first of a home and home with the Washington Wizards.
More from Behind the Buck Pass
This article originally appeared on 
