Cavaliers head to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks; preview and three keys to victory

3. Strong third quarter

Coming out strong after halftime seems pretty basic, and it goes along with playing with pace. But, the Cavs’ old demons from 2016-17 came back to haunt them against Boston. After having an 18-point lead early in the quarter, the Cavs got outscored 33-18 and blew their lead.

“It’s kind of been part of our identity I guess,” Kevin Love said on Tuesday. “In those third quarters we can always be hit or miss. So we let up a little bit. … We just got lackadaisical. They fought, they changed the tempo, played extremely hard and they fought back into the game.”

The Bucks had an equally bad third quarter against Boston on Wednesday, getting outscored 27-18. If the Cavs can come out strong after the half and not be comfortable with their lead, it could help them to ice the game.

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