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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) -- George Karl and the Milwaukee Bucks escaped
with a victory, and immediately were thinking about another game
down the road.
Ray Allen made the second of two free throws with 4.9 seconds
left Wednesday to give the Bucks a 101-100 victory over the
Cleveland Cavaliers, moving Milwaukee into a tie in the race for
the NBA's only remaining postseason berth.
|  | | Bucks forward Darvin Ham drives on Cleveland center Andrew DeClercq. |
Milwaukee (39-39) entered the day a game behind eighth-place
Orlando (39-39) in the Eastern Conference, but the Magic lost at
Boston, 95-91.
The Bucks play at Orlando on April 17.
"It was great that Boston helped us, but it's not over," Karl,
the Bucks' coach, said.
"It's probably going to come down to that game in Orlando."
Both teams have four games left, including that showdown. If
they finish with identical records, Milwaukee would go to the
playoffs because it leads the season series 3-0.
"We sent them a message," Allen said of the Magic. "And that
is that we're right here and you guys are going home."
After Allen's go-ahead free throw and a timeout, Cleveland's
Danny Ferry inbounded the ball at halfcourt to Bob Sura, who drove
and stopped just before the foul line for a jump shot that fell
short of the rim as time expired.
Sam Cassell scored 18 of his game-high 29 points in the second
half to spark Milwaukee. Cassell had 11 points in the third quarter
as Milwaukee turned a 62-53 halftime deficit into an 82-80 lead.
The Bucks used a 13-0 run in the middle of the quarter to take
command.
"This win was huge, in a must-win situation," Cassell said.
"We pushed our defense up in the second half and got a big win."
Wesley Person led Cleveland with 21 points. His 3-pointer with
21.3 seconds to play tied the score at 100. That capped an 8-0 run
over a 2:03 span by the Cavaliers.
Allen then got the ball, drove toward the basket and was fouled
by Sura.
"There wasn't brutal contact, I know that," Cavs coach Randy
Wittman said. "Those are the ones usually at the end of the game
that referees let go."
Allen scored 27 points and Glenn Robinson had 20 as the Bucks'
starting five outscored Cleveland's starters 87-45. The Cavaliers'
starting forwards, Shawn Kemp and Lamond Murray, shot a combined
4-for-21 from the field. Kemp, limited to 19 minutes because of
early foul trouble, finished with 11 points. Murray scored six
points in 22 minutes.
Person had 12 points, Ferry 11 and Sura 10 in the first half as
Cleveland shot 55 percent from the field.
Game notes
Allen had made 30 of 51 (.588) shots from 3-point range in
his previous 12 games, but shot 1-for-6 from beyond the arc
Wednesday. ... The Cavs had won 15 of the previous 18 meetings in
Cleveland. ... The loss was Cleveland's 10th in its last 57 games
when scoring 100 points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 95
Orlando 91
Philadelphia 93
Washington 84
Charlotte 119
Atlanta 87
Milwaukee 101
Cleveland 100
Detroit 90
Miami 73
New York 91
New Jersey 89
Indiana 77
Toronto 73
Utah 102
LA Clippers 93
Phoenix 122
Vancouver 116
Seattle 110
Minnesota 83
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