Energized Cavs Bury Bulls in Fourth

var $ = jQuery.noConflict();

var gameID = '0021900055', seasonYear = '2019', statsCat = 'pts', //will default to pts, other possible categories: reb ast blk statspack, gameCode;

$(document).ready(function(){ loadrecapdata(gameID,seasonYear,statsCat);

//The 1st variable is the game ID for the specific game //the 2nd variable is the year for the feed, this is the YYYY in which the season starts. IE for the 2017-18 season the year variable needs to be 2017

});

When Tristan Thompson plays angry like he did on Wednesday night, that intensity can be felt throughout the arena. And the young Cavaliers accordingly played like a team possessed – blowing past the Bulls with an electric fourth-quarter surge and holding on for the 117-111 win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Thompson and his longtime frontcourt mate, Kevin Love, were dominant throughout – each becoming the first Cavaliers since Tyrone Hill in 2002-03 to start the season with four straight double-doubles.

Thompson was amped from the opening tip and paced both squads with 23 points, going 11-of-19 from the floor to go with 10 boards and a career-high five blocks – swatting four Bulls attempts in the fourth quarter alone.

Love tied a club record with 16 rebounds before intermission and finished with a game-high 20 boards on the night, adding 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and a team-high six assists.

Collin Sexton, who had his third-year team option picked up earlier in the evening, finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting – including a man-sized fourth-quarter flush in traffic that sent the crowd and his teammates into a frenzy.

Jordan Clarkson was rock-solid off the bench – finishing with 17 points and four assists, going 4-of-6 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the stripe. Larry Nance Jr. came off the bench to tally 12 points and five boards.

Cedi Osman was the sixth Cavalier in double-figures – adding 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, adding four boards and three helpers in the win.

Collin Sexton raises the roof with a monster poster dunk in the final minutes of the fourth quarter on Wednesday night in Cleveland.

After jockeying back and fourth through the early parts of the fourth quarter, Kevin Love put Cleveland ahead by one on a driving layup with 8:40 to play.

The Cavs extended that lead to eight before the Bulls began chipping away, cutting their deficit to just two on a putback by Wendell Carter Jr. with 1:43 to play.

But Love would give Cleveland a four-point lead on a bank-shot two possessions later and his sweet feed to a cutting Sexton, who flushed home the huge dunk with 28 seconds to play – essentially sealing the deal for the Wine & Gold.

36.3, 28.6 … combined points and rebounds that Tristan Thompson (20.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg) and Kevin Love (16.0, 16.8) are averaging through the first four games of the season.

Tristan Thompson, on his career-best five blocks in Wednesday’s win …

"I’ve got goals and Coach Beilein has put the bug in my ear, so I’m accepting the challenge. We want to protect the paint – last year, in pick-and-roll and our paint protection was bad – especially with not having John Henson in, so someone’s got to protect that rim. So I accept the challenge and that’s what I did tonight."

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and 87.7 La Mega's Rafa Hernandez-Brito.

The Cavaliers take on their third-straight Central Division foe and get right back on the road to do so – traveling to Indianapolis for an early-season rematch against Malcolm Brogdon, Domantas Sabonis and the Pacers on Friday night.

The Wine & Gold return home for the first of two straight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – welcoming Luka Doncic and the Mavericks to town on Sunday followed by the first visit this season by Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics on Tuesday.