Cavs knock down free throws, gut out win over Bucks

CLEVELAND (NBA.com exclusive) -- If you want to believe you're the best team in the NBA, you had better be prepared to prove it night after thankless night.

You need to survive things like 16 missed free throws, or six minutes without a point, or too many moments when you can't get a stop. That was the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, when they somehow escaped with a 101-98 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.

This one had all the makings of playoff-type intensity, considering the Bucks have been one of the league's hottest teams since the All-Star break -- or more accurately, since the acquisition of forward John Salmons.

The Bucks (41-33) entered the game having won 23 of their previous 30, and what better place to show you're for real than against the team with the league's best record?

Meanwhile, the Cavs (59-16) were supposedly motivated by the fact they lost the prior meeting between the two teams in early March. That's when LeBron James sat out with a sore ankle and Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings hit big shots and talked a little trash to the Cavs' bench.

There was no jawing this time, but there was plenty of determination, gutsy baskets and clutch plays from both teams. And on a night filled with resolve, perhaps no one played a more important role down the stretch than Cavs guard Mo Williams.

Williams had been struggling a little lately, both in finding shots and making them once they presented themselves. But he broke out of his mini-slump on Wednesday, and not just because he finished with 21 points on 6-for-12 shooting.

He also did a fine job of running the team, and on a night when the Cavs otherwise made the rim cringe with fear every time they stepped to the free-low line, Williams came through at the end.

First, he calmly swished a pair of foul shots to give the Cavs a 99-95 edge with 12.8 seconds left in the game. Then, after Salmons buried a 3-pointer, Williams knocked down another pair from the line at the 8.0 second mark.

"I just have to lock in and knock them down," Williams said. "I put a lot of pressure on myself to make free throws in those situations."

Williams' final two put an end to a zany night when the Cavs seemed to have the game won in the third quarter, when they built a 10-point lead. Then the Bucks came racing back, taking a two-point lead (95-93) with just more than a minute left in the fourth, and the ball. In fact, had Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova not missed a wide-open three from the baseline on that possession, the Cavs may have been buried.

That's not to say Ilyasova is to blame. Far from it, actually. He played a huge role in the rally, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds.

It's just that the Bucks will likely remember this as a night of missed opportunities.

Afterward, they wore the defeat on their faces, as Salmons and reserve Jerry Stackhouse sat in the locker room, staring straight ahead. They didn't talk, they didn't head to the shower, they didn't even take off their uniforms. They just sat, and stared.

"We should have won that game," said Bucks coach Scott Skiles. "We gave them that game. Nothing against Cleveland, because they won and they deserved it. But we've got to make plays."

Salmons has looked a lot like the second-best small forward in the Eastern Conference (behind You Know Who) since coming to Milwaukee in a late-February deal with Chicago. On Wednesday, he looked a lot like a modern-day Larry Bird, scoring 28 points, passing for seven assists and leading his team via pure willpower and hustle.

"We feel like we let an opportunity go," Salmons said. "We feel if we come in and play our game and compete, we can play with anybody, and that's what we're looking for in the playoffs."

James scored 23 points to lead the Cavs. He also grabbed nine rebounds, passed for seven assists and stole Luke Ridnour's pass as time ran out to seal the victory.

As an interesting aside, the Cavs shot 45 free throws to the Bucks' nine. Needless to say, it was a stat that the Bucks did not overlook.

"Nine to 45, that's got to be a record," Salmons said. "I don't want to lose no money, so ... I'm not going to speak about that."