Mayo leads Bucks over Cavs

[November 07, 2013]  MILWAUKEE (AP) -- O.J. Mayo scored 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and Gary Neal had 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks held off the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-104 on Wednesday night.

Milwaukee, already without its top two point guards -- Brandon Knight and Luke Ridnour -- also played without forward Ersan Ilyasova and center Larry Sanders. Ilyasova was out with a sore right ankle while Sanders was out with a sprained right thumb, injured in a weekend off-court incident that is being investigated, the Bucks said in a statement.

The Bucks opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run to take a 94-81 lead, but Kyrie Irving scored 10 consecutive points to fuel a 13-point run that put the Cavaliers up 104-103.

Caron Butler tipped in a miss by Mayo with 24.8 seconds left to put the Bucks up 105-104 and Mayo added four free throws in the closing seconds.

Irving led Cleveland with 29 points and Dion Waiters added 21.

Neither team put on a defensive clinic in the first half that ended with the Bucks leading 55-53.

Cleveland, which entered the game shooting 40.2 percent from the field, shot 56.4 percent in the first half, making 22 of 39. The Bucks, who entered the game shooting 43.8 percent, made 20 of 36 (55.6 percent).

NOTES: Former Bucks G Michael Redd officially announced his retirement Wednesday night and addressed the crowd from center court between the first and second quarters. Redd, the 43rd pick in 2000, played 11 seasons with the Bucks before finishing his career with Phoenix in 2011-12. Redd, who holds the Bucks' record with 57 points in a game, averaged better than 21 points per game for six consecutive seasons before tearing an ACL and MCL in his left knee in 2009-10 and then again the following season. ... Cavaliers F Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft, connected on a 3-pointer with 9:46 left in the first half for his first NBA basket after starting the season 0 for 15 from the field. . Ilyasova, who missed most of the preseason with a sprained right ankle, was not in uniform due to soreness in the ankle.

[Associated Press]

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