CHICAGO – Thanks to 36 points from LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1) got a much-needed bounce-back win in Chicago over the Bulls in overtime, 114-108.
The Good: As stated above, the aforementioned James carried the Cavaliers in scoring 36 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals in 42 minutes and shooting 14-of-30 from the field.
Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, had three assists in 35 minutes on 6-of-17 shooting. Irving would shoot a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Kevin Love would record his second straight double-double in two games as a Cavalier in scoring 16 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Tristan Thompson also recorded a double-double in leading all bench scorers with 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds including a franchise-record 12 offensive rebounds.
Cavs head coach, David Blatt earned his first NBA win after spending over two decades in Europe–and most recently Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The Bad: The lack of points from the bench continued for Cleveland as they would be outscored 31-20, by Chicago’s with Taj Gibson and Tony Snell each recording 10 points and Aaron Brooks scoring 11.
The Ugly: The much-hyped return of Derrick Rose was cut short as he appeared to tweak his ankle in the second quarter and never returned. Rose would finish with 20 points in 25 minutes.
Analysis: Despite their reserves being outscored for the second straight game, Cleveland out-rebounded Chicago, 52-42, and a more aggressive LeBron brought his “A” game Friday evening, in getting the win, Cleveland can now relax a bit before facing the Portland Trail Blazers.
Next: @Portland, Tuesday, Nov 4 (10:00 PM EST)
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