Bulls Shoot Past Cavs in Chicago

*** The Cavaliers made a change to their starting lineup looking for a spark on Wednesday night in the Windy City, but it wasn’t enough to stave off a hot-shooting Bulls squad that pulled away late to take the 127-111 decision at United Center. 

Chicago shot 56 percent from the floor, scored at least 30 points in three quarters, piled up 68 points in the paint and out-ran Cleveland on the break, 25-14, in a contest that was back-and-forth through the first three quarters. The Cavs trailed by a touchdown after the third period, but the Bulls raced ahead in the fourth – shooting 62 percent from the floor, including 4-of-6 from deep. 

After starting his first 23 games this year, DeAndre Hunter came off the bench on Wednesday night and was one of five Cavaliers in double-figures – finishing with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, 2-of-6 from deep, adding five boards in 27 minutes of reserve duty. Hunter – who finished fourth in last year’s Sixth Man voting – came off the bench in 22 of his 27 games with Cleveland after being traded from the Hawks. 

Donovan Mitchell led both teams with 32 points on 11-for-23 shooting, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 from the stripe, adding five assists in the loss. In 21 career meetings against the Bulls, Mitchell’s 29.4ppg average is the highest by any player in NBA history against Chicago, having scored at least 30 points in six of the last 10 matchups. 

Jaylon Tyson kept his stellar sophomore season rolling – following up with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 2-of-4 from long-range. On the year, the swingman from Cal is shooting .539 from the floor, .466 from deep – 6^th-best mark in the NBA. 

Darius Garland cooled off after drilling his first three three-pointers, finishing with 15 points and a team-best six assists. Jarrett Allen went 7-of-9 from the floor for 14 points to go with six boards and a pair of blocks. 

J.A. put things into perspective while acknowledging the Cavs’ recent funk. “I mean, everybody thinks of everything that could be going wrong, but at the end of the day I'm going to stick with this team. That's the easiest thing to do. You can think badly about what's going on, you could give up. But at the end of the day, if you keep trying, keep fighting, things are going to go right, eventually.”

Overall, the Cavs shot 48 percent from the floor, but just 31 percent from three-point range, and uncharacteristically committed 20 miscues on the night. 

Coby White paced seven Bulls in double-figures with 25 points, going 8-of-13 from the floor, but it was Josh Giddey who did the real damage – racking up his sixth triple-double of the season with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Nikola Vucevic scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Tre Jones came off Chicago’s bench to tally 11 points, 11 assists and three steals. 

*** Aside from De’Andre Hunter’s performance, Thomas Bryant was solid again – finishing with seven points and six boards in 18 minutes of work off the bench. Lonzo Ball led the Cavaliers with seven boards and Craig Porter hit both field goal attempts, dished out four assists and finished with a team-high three steals. 

*** The Cavs face the Bulls for the third time this season and second time this week when Billy Donovan’s squad rolls in to complete the home-and-home series on Friday night. The Wine & Gold stay home for a pair – taking on the Hornets and Pelicans on Monday and Tuesday night at Rocket Arena before hitting the road for three straight, beginning with a big Christmas Day matchup with the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. From there, it’s a Texas two-step, with stops in Houston and San Antonio.