In terms of Winning Time, the Wine and Gold have experienced that feeling on three occasions this season, in three very different types of victories, against their Second Round opponent – the Chicago Bulls.
They say the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. But there’s no doubt that these are two very different teams than the ones that tangled at the United Center on Halloween. In mid-January, the Bulls were heading into a funk just as Cleveland was coming out of one. Both teams have won a double-digit decision against the other. And each team has faced the other shorthanded – a situation the Cavs find themselves in as the series tips off on Monday.
This will be the seventh playoff meeting between the Central Division rivals, with the two crossing paths in 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994 and, most recently, in 2010, when the Wine and Gold dropped Chicago in five games. And in winning the Central Division this year, the Cavs took three of four against the Bulls.
We’ll break down the individual matchups as Game 1 of the 2015 Conference Semifinals draws closer, but in today’s installment of Ohio Lottery Winning Time, here’s how Cleveland fared against Tom Thibodeau’s squad so far this season – and how it might provide some insight on the upcoming series …
Thompson grabs 12 offensive rebounds.
Watch full, final game highlights from the victory.
October 31, 2014
Cavaliers 114, Bulls 108 OT
After dropping the eagerly-anticipated home opener the day before, the Cavs did the next best thing the following evening: they spoiled Chicago’s – winning an overtime thriller on Halloween in the Windy City.
LeBron James led everyone with 36 points – including the first eight points of the extra session. Kyrie Irving followed up with 23 points and Kevin Love doubled-up for the second straight game with 16 points and 16 boards. Thompson notched 16 of the bench’s 20 total points and 12 of his 13 rebounds were off the offensive glass.
Led by Thompson, the Cavs dominated Chicago down low – beating them on the boards, 52-42, in points in the paint, 58-44, and in second-chance scoring, 22-14. Kirk Hinrich and Derrick Rose notched 20 points apiece for the Bulls, but Rose left the game with a sprained right ankle late in the third quarter and didn’t return.
The victory also marked David Blatt’s first NBA career win, and the squad presented him the game ball following the victory. That accomplishment will pale in comparison if he’s able to get four wins with a shorthanded squad in the Second Round.
January 19, 2015
Cavaliers 108, Bulls 94
All five starters record double figures.
Watch full, final game highlights from the victory.
After rediscovering their mojo in the final two games of a West Coast trip – sweeping the Staples Center before heading home – the Cavs tipped off a four-game homestand by handing the then-Division-leading Bulls a two-touchdown defeat at The Q.
In a nationally-televised MLK Day affair, all five Cavalier starters scored in double-figures – with three of them tallying double-doubles.
In just his fourth game back after an eight-game layoff, a re-energized LeBron James went 12-for-23 from the floor for a game-high 26 points in just 36 minutes of action. J.R. Smith followed up with 20 points, going 6-of-9 from beyond the arc – including a pair of fourth-quarter bombs to put the affair on ice. Kyrie Irving netted 18 points and a career-high tying 12 assists in the win and Kevin Love notched his team-leading 22nd double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and a dozen boards. Timofey Mozgov – in just his fifth start with the Cavs – added 15 points and a game-high 15 boards, while holding Chicago’s Pau Gasol to 4-for-14 shooting.
The loss was Chicago’s sixth in their last eight games; the victory was Cleveland’s third straight – and it began a home win streak that would eventually extend to 18 games.
After the game, LeBron liked where his team was heading – and he was right.
”I like where we’ve been the past few games,” said James. “The last week we’ve played some really, really good basketball. From the second half of the Phoenix game all the way to tonight, we’ve played some really good basketball. It’s a good feeling for us, understanding that this is what we have, we know what we have, and you’re going and moving in the direction knowing that you have to get better every day.”
February 12, 2015
Bulls 113, Cavaliers 98
LeBron with 31, Kyrie with 17, as Cavs fall.
Watch full, final game highlights from the game.
In the final NBA game before All-Star Weekend, a white-hot Cavaliers team that had won 14 of their previous 15 games took a mulligan at the Madhouse on Madison – dropping a one-sided affair in a contest they were never really in.
LeBron James, who’d start his 11th straight All-Star Game three days later, led all scorers with 31 points – but he also accounted for eight of the Wine and Gold’s 16 turnovers. Kyrie Irving finished with 17 points despite struggling from the floor. Timofey Mozgov battled foul trouble all night, but still doubled-up with 13 points and 11 boards.
Kevin Love was sidelined for the contest after suffering a right corneal abrasion in a win over Miami the previous night. Tristan Thompson got the spot start for Cleveland and went 5-of-5 from the floor for 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Bulls took advantage of Love’s absence and Mozgov’s foul trouble. Derrick Rose, who the Cavs had kept in check in their first two meetings of the season, consistently penetrated Cleveland’s D, leading the Bulls with 30 points and seven helpers. Tony Snell went 9-for-11 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc for 22 points.
In the 15-point loss, the Cavaliers trailed by double-digits for the first time in just under a month and would proceed to win 10 of their next 13 games after the Break.
April 5, 2015
Cavaliers 99, Bulls 94
LBJ records triple-double.
Watch full, final game highlights from the victory.
In their final meeting of the regular season on Easter Sunday at The Q, the Wine and Gold’s five-point victory over Chicago had a little bit of everything – from flaring tempers to LeBron James’ first triple-double of the year to about 130 combined feet of buzzer-beating shots.
Kyrie Irving led both teams with 27 points – going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, the fourth of which came from WAY beyond the arc. Having already drained a tough fadeaway three-pointer from the left corner at the first quarter buzzer, Irving took the inbounds pass from Iman Shumpert late in the third and, thinking there were 22 seconds remaining on the shot clock, began dribbling the ball into the forecourt. But LeBron barked at him to shoot it, and Kyrie fired up the 52-footer that drew nothing but net.
J.R. Smith followed up with 24 points and sank a bomb of his own – a 41-foot heave from just inside the time line while falling out of bounds to beat the first-half buzzer. It was one of eight three-pointers that Smith hit in the victory – going 8-of-17 from the floor, with all 17 attempts coming from long-distance.
Almost lost among the long-distance exploits was LeBron’s first triple-double of the season – and 50th of his future Hall of Fame career – finishing with 20 points, 10 boards, 12 assists, three steals and a blocked shot.
The home victory was the Cavs’ 18th straight at The Q and gave them a full four-game edge over the Bulls in the Central Division.
In three nights, the Cavaliers – who swept the Celtics out of the first round at a steep cost – will continue their race for the ring against a Bulls team that just blasted the Bucks by 54 points. Cleveland dropped Chicago in three of four occasions this season, but we all know by now that the playoffs are a different animal. And that beast comes out of its cage on Monday night.