Cleveland outscored Chicago by 20 points in the final frame to win their 11th-straight game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, once again struggling to put away a lesser team, used a big fourth quarter to power past the Chicago Bulls 139-117 for their 11th win in a row. After trailing at halftime, the Cavs outscored the Bulls by 23 points in the second half and went on a 32-10 run with just under seven minutes left in the game.
Cleveland played without star forward Evan Mobley (rest), but it still should have been more than enough anyway. Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell struggled out of the gate, but they picked it up in the second half to help secure the win. It was a sluggish game once again for the Cavs, who needed to come back against an opponent that they should not have any issues with.
With Mobley sitting out, De’Andre Hunter picked up the start at power forward and had a relatively quiet game – especially compared to his total takeover against the Blazers on Sunday. Javonte Green played some meaningful minutes for the first time as a member of the Cavs, putting together an effective 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists in 18 minutes of court time. As far as bench players go, Green was the best of the bunch.
The real MVP of the night goes to Allen, who had a monster double-double with 25 points and 17 rebounds, imposing his will on the undermanned Bulls who were without starting center Nikola Vucevic. Mitchell led all scorers with 28 points on 7-17 shooting, but converted 13 of his 14 free throw attempts.
Weird stat of the night: Sam Merrill led both the Cavs and Bulls in blocks with two.
It’s hard to get too terribly distraught over the Cavs being unable to thoroughly crush a lesser team like the Bulls, but the early game woes are worth monitoring. They started very slow against the Blazers, at home, and obviously fell down 25-3 against the Celtics. Both of those games turned out well in the end, but the poor showings in the first quarter are not something to ignore. Still, it’s hard to fault a team that is 51-10.
Coby White led the battered Bulls with 25 points while rookie Matas Buzelis had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Talen Horton-Tucker had a big game off the bench with 22 points on 9-18 shooting and was getting to the rim with relative ease.
The Cavs next game will be Wednesday, March 5 at home against the Miami Heat as they welcome back Kevin Love. Tip is at 7:00pm on ESPN.