Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Loss To Cleveland Cavaliers

Dec 21, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 113-102. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 113-102. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
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The Milwaukee Bucks were handed their second straight loss by the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, losing 113-102. With that, we take a look at what stood out the most for them in the loss.

Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

In their second game of their home-and-home series, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night 113-102.

Their second straight loss to the defending champs in as many nights, the Bucks followed in the footsteps of how their first two meetings with the Cavs started, as Cleveland took control of the game early on, led by both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Aside from a hot start from Jabari Parker, the Bucks were without many contributors to keep pace with the Cavs as the first quarter dragged on. That continued into the second quarter as the Cavaliers kept the lead out of reach of the Bucks, leading as much as 16 midway through the period.

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But thanks to LeBron getting some much needed rest, the Bucks gradually stormed back, thanks to their own stars in Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo and decreased the lead to 5 at halftime.

The Bucks would continue to make things uncomfortable for the Cavs in the second half, bringing the lead down to as low as three points late into the third. However, the Bucks’ offense would stall not long after and as was the case throughout the night, they had no answer for slowing down the Cavaliers’ leading duo.

The Cavaliers would only continue to put their foot down on the gas pedal, forcing Bucks head coach Jason Kidd to wave the white flag early by pulling rotation players at around the 8:26 mark of the fourth.

So with that to set the stage, let’s take a deeper look at what did and didn’t work for the Bucks in their loss last night.