Bulls lose high-scoring affair against Cavaliers |
CLEVELAND - Make that 14 wins and counting for the Cleveland Cavaliers (14-0) as they continued their impressive start against the Chicago Bulls (5-8) at Rocket Mortgage Arena on Friday. These teams met earlier in the week, with the Bulls giving them all they could handle, but this time around, there was some added incentive thrown into this game as this was the first game of the in-season Tournament for both sides.
In a day and age where offense has become much more valued than defense, defense was optional in this one. Both teams came out firing, scoring nearly 300 total points between them. In the end, it was the Cavaliers finding a way to get the job done, dropping 144 points on the Bulls for the 144-126 victory. Given how this game started, you would never have guess this would even be a game. The Cavaliers scored 49 first-quarter points and opened up a massive 49-34 lead after one. The Cleveland offense continued to keep things going in the second quarter, but it was the Bulls who suddenly came battling back. Nikola Vucevic, with his 18 first-half points, pulled the Bulls within 77-73 at the break. The third quarter was more of the same for both sides, as the offense continued to steal the show. The Cavliers held a five-point lead heading into the fourth before outscoring the Bulls 37-24 in the final 12 minutes to pull away for the victory. As mentioned, Vucevic came out strong with 18 first-half points, but he sputtered in the second half to finish with 25 points and eight rebounds. One player who didn't sputter for the Bulls was the hot-shooting Coby White as he continued his strong last two weeks. Not only did White knockdown 8-15 shots for his team-leading 29 points, but he connected for six triples as the three-point shot continued to be a massive part of the Bulls offensive success. The Bulls needed both Vucevic and White to have huge games as Zach Lavine was stuck in the middle of his worst showing of the season with eight points, with Josh Giddey adding only five points. Anytime two of your five starters land in double figures, it becomes very difficult to win, so scoring as many points as the Bulls did is nothing short of impressive. When those games happen, you need other players to pick up the slack, and Patrick Williams was one of the ones doing that. He put forth his second strong outing of the week with 17 points and dished out a season-high nine assists. Ayo Dosunmu also continued his run of success, starting to become the engine that makes the Bulls' second unit cook. Despite playing just 25 minutes, it was 25 efficient minutes, as he dropped 15 points to go with five assists and four rebounds in what was a complete game effort from him. Matas Buzellis connected on all three of his triples for nine points, continuing to improve from one game to the next. As is so often the case when Donovan Mitchell faces off against the Bulls, he goes out and dominates them. He has the highest scoring average against the Bulls of any team in his career. Mitchell was at it again on Friday, knocking down seven more triples to lead all scorers with 37 points. That gives Mitchell 14 made triples in two games against Chicago this week and nearly 60 total points as he continues to impress against this Bulls team. For as good as Mitchell was, you don't score 144 points by accident, as the Cavaliers have an explosive offense that was on full display in this one. Darius Garland had the hot hand in the first half with 18 points, finished with 29 points, and dished out nine assists to help set things up for Mitchell and the rest of the offense. Jarrett Allen made it three starters with 20 or more points as he bounced back from a rough showing against Chicago to finish with 24 points and 10 boards earlier in the week. As if having three players score 20 points wasn't a tough enough task to handle, try stopping four guys from scoring 20 points, as Caris LeVert had an impressive showing off the bench. Like Dosunmu, LeVert is the Cavs' primary scoring threat off the bench. With 22 points and eight assists in 26 minutes, you saw how explosive he can be when he is on. Georges Niang rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Cavs with 14 points, as the balanced Cavaliers attack helped run their record to 14-0 this season.
