Bucks Get Walloped by Cavaliers 95-73 Sunday in 2nd Las Vegas Summer League Game

Tom Brew | Jul 14, 2024

Milwaukee Bucks forward Chris Livingston had 17 points in their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday in the NBA Summer League / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

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Milwaukee Bucks

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Things started poorly for the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, and they never got any better. Behind from the opening tip, the Bucks lost 95-73 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in their second game of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

The game was worse than the final score indicated. It was 14-1 early, and the Bucks were down by 17 at the end of the first quarter. The deficit reached 38 late in the second quarter, and the rout was on. The Bucks committed 25 turnovers and were outrebounded by 13.

Nothing was good. Nothing at all.

“Collectively, it was all disappointing with how we could have done a lot better on both sides of the ball,’’ Bucks Summer League coach Pete Dominguez. “The controllable stuff like our effort in transition, our ball movement, sharing the pass, it kind of got away from us early. We need to get back to the basketball that we’ve seen in camp.

“I think Tuesday is our next game and we’ll come out with a better result.’’

MarJon Beauchamp led the Bucks with 19 points, but he also had seven turnovers. Chris Livingston had 17 points and Ryan Rollins had 10 off the bench as the only other player in double figures.

The Bucks were brutal in the first half, committing 16 turnovers. When they did hang on to the ball, they made just 13-of-38 shots — 34.2 percent — during the half. Beauchamp, who lead team in scoring with 22 in the Saturday loss to Chicago, had nine points in the first half, and no one else had more than seven. They also got outrebounded 26-13.

It's just the second game of summer, and there's no reason to panic. Still, there's a message to be sent that an ugly game like this, where they weren't competitive at all, can't happen again. Dominguez won't make too much of it, but he also knows the team and individual film sessions on Monday will be beneficial.

“It’s funny being around these young guys, because all of a sudden I’m the old guy now,’’ said Dominguez, who joined the Bucks in February. “I’ve been through enough in my life where you have good experiences and that really wasn’t always so good. Sometimes you have bad experiences, but you look back at is six months, a year later, and you think that’s the best thing that could have happened to me. This is a huge learning experience for us, and life is all about how you react to those experiences.

“Without a doubt, it’s great (seeing it all on film.) We’ve got a great coaching staff here and part of our job is sitting down with them and showing them individual clips. After today’s game, there’s a little more bad than good to show but ultimately it’s a powerful tool for us and we’ll use it.’’

The Bucks are 0-2 now here in Las Vegas. They play the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, and the Phoenix Suns on Friday. The full NBA Summer League schedule, with gametimes, TV information and all results so far, is linked below.

Complete NBA Summer League Schedule

SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE, RESULTS: Here is the complete scheduly for the 2024 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which runs from July 12-22. Bookmark this file, as we update the results in real time live from Las Vegas. CLICK HERE

Complete NBA Summer League Schedule

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