Maurice Williams’ buzzer beater leads Cleveland Cavaliers past Milwaukee Bucks
Maurice Williams admitted that he was hesitant to take the last shot for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the veteran point guard had a lot guts as he converted a buzzer-beating jumper to give
the Cavaliers an 83-81 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday 24 November.
Williams, who had never converted a game-winner since he was dealt by the Bucks to the Cavaliers, hit a 15-foot jumper over Brandon Jennings as time expired, helping the Cavaliers bounce
back from a humiliating loss against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday 23 November.
“There's a lot of pressure to take those shots,” said Williams, who finished with 25 points on 11-for-22 shooting from the field. “You got to be willing to take them and make them. I definitely
have to be the guy who makes plays. I will accept that role. Somebody has to be that aggressive guy every single night. We need that one guy. With me having the ball, the team will follow. I just got to set the tone.”
Anthony Parker had 14 points; Daniel Gibson added 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field, while Anderson Varejao only scored six points but grabbed 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who
are still struggling to adjust to new head coach Byron Scott’s system.
“I know it's a process,” said Scott, whose team currently have a 6-8 record. “I know that it takes time. I know it is going to take time for us on both ends of the floor to understand exactly
what I want done. So I don't jump the gun because I know everybody's learning curve is a little bit different.”
Cleveland had a slow start and they trailed for almost the entire game before rallying to tie the game at 77 with only 4:24 left in the game. Williams then took over, scoring the Cavaliers’
last eight points including the game-winning jumper.
Keyon Dooling paced the Bucks with his 18 points and five assists; John Salmons added 14 points, while Luc Mbah a Moute and Corey Maggette chipped in 10 points apiece, but they could not
sustain their form as they went cold down the stretch that led to their ninth defeat in 14 games this season.
“We were a little bit soft on both ends,” said Bucks head coach Scott Skiles. “They got back in it. We have to assume just because we are up, we are not going to blow them out. When plays
need to be made and when we really need to execute, we're just kind of milling around and not being real professional about it.”
Milwaukee, who allowed 31 points in the third period, played without starting centre Andrew Bogut, who is out with a sore back.
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