Almost exactly five months ago, the Cavaliers knocked the Bulls out of the playoffs in six games. If there was a seventh, it might have looked like Tuesday night’s season opener in the United Center.
The Cavaliers rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit, took the lead briefly in the fourth, then rallied again in the final minute before falling in the closing seconds – dropping a 97-95 thriller on Tuesday night in Chicago.
LeBron James led everyone with 25 points to go with 10 boards – tallying the 290th double-double of his Hall of Fame career. James went 12-for-22 from the floor, but it was that 22nd attempt that he wishes he had back.
After Kevin Love drained a pair of three-pointers in the final minute — cutting Chicago’s eight point lead to just a deuce with 3.6 to play, James drove through the Bulls defense but was met at the rim by Pau Gasol, who blocked LeBron’s offering – one of his six swats on the night. The Cavs called timeout, but Jimmy Butler swatted Mo Williams’ in-bounds attempt as time expired.
Williams, in his first regular season game back with the Wine and Gold, looked solid in the starting role – finishing up with 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting, including 3-of-7 from long-distance. The 12-year veteran led Cleveland with seven assists, adding a steal and blocked shot while holding Derrick Rose to 8-of-22 from the floor.
Kevin Love, seeing his first non-preseason action since last April, notched eight of his 18 points in the final 90 seconds of the contest – going 6-for-17 from the floor and 3-of-7 from deep, adding eight boards, four helpers and a pair of blocks.
Cleveland got solid contributions off the bench – including Richard Jefferson’s 10-point effort and a game-high 12-rebound performance from Tristan Thompson, who just rejoined the squad last Thursday after a brief holdout.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well on Tuesday. Cleveland shot 40 percent on the night; Chicago, 43 percent. But it was the Wine and Gold’s failings at the stripe that truly contributed to their demise – going just 10-of-17 from the line.
President Barack Obama – an avowed Bulls fan – took in most of the contest, arriving under heavy security midway through the second quarter and taking a courtside seat to watch the action.
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