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Cavs begin road trip against Bucks

Mar 22, 2015 - 1:08 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - With a postseason berth wrapped up, the Cleveland Cavaliers can breathe a sigh of relief.

But business still has to be handled for the Cavaliers, who will play their next three games on the road against Milwaukee, Memphis and Brooklyn. The Cavs have a 19-17 road ledger this season.

The Cavaliers secured a playoff spot with a 95-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, as LeBron James netted 29 points on 13-of-26 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out five assists. Kyrie Irving and Timofey Mozgov scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the win.

"It's a huge accomplishment for our team," James said after the Cavs clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since he left for Miami following the 2009-10 season. "We have guys who have never been in the playoffs, and they should not take it for granted."

James played despite missing Friday's shootaround with an illness and scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half, including 13 in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Love added 11 points and 13 rebounds in the win, Cleveland's 12th in the last 16 games.

Cleveland, which has prevailed in 22 of the last 23 games when scoring at least 100 points, sits nine games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the East's top seed. It is 26-6 since Jan. 15 and 28-14 against conference opponents.

Meanwhile, the Bucks will play their next four games at the Bradley Center versus Cleveland, Miami, Indiana and Golden State, and are 19-13 at home.

The Bucks have struggled of late, losing five in a row and 12 of the past 15 games, including Friday's 129-127 triple-overtime loss at Brooklyn. Khris Middleton led four players with 20-plus points and posted 29 on 11-of-23 shooting, while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 23 and 14 rebounds.

Zaza Pachulia had a big night with 22 points to go along with 21 rebounds, and Ersan Ilyasova provided 20 points and 13 boards for Milwaukee, which made 38 percent from the field and had an astounding 81-53 advantage on the glass.

John Henson grabbed 10 rebounds and scored four points in defeat.

"We had an opportunity to get a stop and Joe (Johnson) made a big 3," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said of the shot that made it 117-117.

Kidd's squad is sixth in the Eastern Conference, just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Miami Heat.

The Bucks and Cavaliers have split a pair of meetings this season - both in the Forest City - and the Central rivals are slated to tangle April 8 in Brew City. Cleveland has won five of the past eight encounters between the teams.