3-30-17 at Bulls

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Wrap-Up -- The Wine and Gold still have time to turn things around before beginning their title defense in the postseason. But the clock is definitely ticking – and the Cavs are going in the wrong direction.

After playing one of their better first halves in some time, the Cavaliers collapsed in the third quarter – specifically on the defensive end – and fell for the fifth time in their last seven outings, dropping the 99-93 decision on Thursday night in Chicago.

The Bulls’ victory gave them the season sweep against Cleveland – not a good omen if the Playoff scenario shakes out pitting these two against each other in the First Round.

Looking sharp on the defensive end to start the affair, the Cavaliers held Chicago to 41 points on 36 percent shooting in the first half – tallying five blocks and five steals against a flummoxed Bulls squad.

But there was a dramatic shift after intermission.

In the third period, the Cavaliers came out flat and gave the Bulls new life. In that crucial quarter, the Bulls shot 60 percent from the floor – going 15-for-25, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc – putting up 37 points and turning a nine-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead.

In the fourth quarter, neither team could find the basket. But by then, the damage was done and Cleveland’s comeback attempt eventually fell short.

LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 26 points on 11-for-20 shooting – notching his 38th double-double of the season with 10 boards, eight assists, a steal and blocked shot. James also accounted for four of Cleveland’s 15 turnovers.

After having his streak of 20-point performances snapped earlier this week in San Antonio, Kyrie Irving began a new one on Thursday night – tallying 20 points on 7-for-20 shooting, including 4-of-7 from long-distance.

Tristan Thompson followed up with 15 points and nine boards, going 7-of-10 from the floor. Kevin Love snagged 10 rebounds of his own, but that was the highlight of his night – fouling out early in the fourth quarter and going just 3-of-10 from the floor.

Four Cavs score in double figures but it's not enough against the Bulls.

J.R. Smith, still struggling to find his rhythm, got on track a bit on Thursday in Chicago – finishing with 12 points, going 4-of-7 from long-range, 4-of-9 overall.

For the Bulls, Nikola Mirotic – who was just inserted into Chicago’s starting lineup six games ago – tallied exactly 28 points for the third time in his last five outings, going 9-for-14 from the floor, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc to lead both teams.

Statistically, the Central Division combatants fought to a draw – with the exception of the rebounding column, where the Bulls grabbed just seven more boards than Cleveland, but outdid the Cavs on the offensive glass, 15-9.

Turning Point -- We could look for certain second-half runs or rally that started and fell short, but the truth is that the turning point on Thursday came right after intermission.

In that fateful third quarter – the only period in which Chicago shot better than 36 percent from the floor – the Bulls made their push for the night.

The Wine and Gold weren’t bad offensively – shooting 50 percent to the Bulls’ 60 – but Chicago controlled the boards in the third, outrebounding Cleveland, 12-7, and had just enough edge to hold off the Cavaliers in the final period.

By the Numbers – 28,599 … points that LeBron James has now scored over the course of his career, moving him into 7th place ahead of Shaquille O’Neal on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He’s got a moving target to reach at No. 6 – Dirk Nowitzki, who currently has 30,181 and counting.

Quotable – LeBron James, on hoping to get past the month of March …

”I’m never one to cut short the process. It’s all part of the process. That’s what I live by, that’s how I built my career. Tomorrow is another day, another opportunity, but we have a lot of work to do and we don’t have a lot of time.”

Up Next -- With Thursday night’s loss in Chicago, the Cavaliers have completed their toughest road stretch of the season – having played six of their last seven on the road. On Friday night in Cleveland, they play the second-of the back-to-back – taking on the Sixers to wrap up the month of March. In April, the Cavaliers have seven games remaining, beginning with the Pacers final trip to Cleveland on Sunday night at The Q, followed by Orlando’s final visit on Tuesday. On Wednesday night, it’s a critical showdown with the Celtics in Boston – with first place in the Conference playoff picture possibly riding on the result.

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Bulls’ Big Third Keeps Cavs Reeling

Cavs.com

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#CavsBulls Game Photos - March 30, 2017

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As the postseason rapidly approaches, the Cavaliers round out their toughest road stretch of the season on Thursday night in Chicago – having played six of their last seven on the road.

With Boston losing to the Bucks on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers and Celtics are locked in a virtual tie atop the Eastern Conference. After tonight’s contest in Chicago, the Cavaliers have eight games remaining – five at home, including a Friday night matchup with Philly at The Q.

The Wine and Gold are coming off one of their worst losses of the season – a 103-74 drubbing at the hands of the Spurs on Monday night in San Antonio. In that loss – Cleveland’s fourth in its last six outings – the Spurs shot 64 percent in the second period, using a 24-8 run to pull away for the season sweep.

The Bulls – who’ve gone 5-9 in March and sit 1.5 games behind the Pacers in the Eastern Conference playoff picture – are also seeking the season sweep over the Cavaliers on Thursday night. In the Bulls’ three wins over the Cavs this year, they’ve won by an average of 12.0 points – including a 117-99 decision back on February 25 at The Q.

LeBron James is more concerned with getting his squad into a good rhythm heading into the postseason, but he is (once again) on the verge to making history -- needing just 24 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal for 7th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

LeBron’s first appearance in Chicago was marked by arrival at the United Center in full Chicago Cubs gear – with his infamous “honeymoon’s over” screed following that loss.

The King, who’s still bothered by the scratched cornea he suffered last Friday night in Charlotte, comes into the contest having put together another sensational month of March – tallying nine double-doubles and four triple-doubles, averaging 27.2 points, 10.5 boards and 8.3 assists through 13 games.

And the four-time MVP has always had good individual success against Chicago – netting 20 or more points in 10 straight outings against the Bulls – including four outings of at least 30. Through the first three meetings this season, LeBron is averaging 29.0 points on .581 shooting to go with 10.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds.

James will match up on several occasions against Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic, who’s started the last five games and is averaging 23.7 ppg over his last three – with a pair of 28-point performances in that span.

With Dwyane Wade’s season coming to an end on March 15, Rajon Rondo has tried to pick up the slack as the Bulls attempt a late-season rally, trying to keep from missing the postseason in two straight seasons.

The man who’s twice led the league in assists has had an up-and-down season with the Bulls – losing his starting job near the start of the New Year and tallying double-digit helpers only twice since then.

Over the seven games that Wade’s been out, Rondo has averaged 11.3 points and 7.7 assists and is coming off an 18-point performance in Chicago’s Sunday night win over Milwaukee – going 8-of-11 from the floor and adding nine boards and nine assists.

On Monday night in San Antonio, the stingy Spurs snapped Kyrie Irving’s career-best 20-point streak at 21 games – holding the four-time All-Star to just eight points on 4-for-13 shooting, tying a season-low.

In Cleveland’s home loss to the Bulls back on February 25, Kyrie finished with 34 points on 13-for-25 shooting, adding team-highs in rebounds (9) and assists (7).

One of the key components to the Cavaliers finding their form with the postseason rapidly approaching is to get J.R. Smith into a rhythm.

Swish has had one of the most difficult seasons of his career – both on and off the floor – and would love nothing more than to salvage it with a strong late-season run.

The 13-year vet has averaged just 6.8 points on 31 percent shooting since returning from a thumb injury 11 games ago. And he’s continued to struggle since being re-inserted into the starting lineup on March 22 – shooting 32 percent from the floor and 30 percent from long-range while averaging just 5.8 points per.

He’ll be up against an opponent that’s had no problem filling it up this season in three-time All-Star Jimmy Butler. The former Marquette star comes into the contest averaging a career-best 23.5 ppg – having posted four 40-point games this season and a 52-point outburst in a January 2 meeting with Charlotte.

Since Wade’s injury, Butler has tried willing Chicago to the Playoffs – averaging 27.3 points and 10.8 assists over his past four outings – dropping 37 points on the Raptors last week and 36 more in a loss to the Sixers six days ago.

In Monday night’s loss to the Spurs, the Cavaliers second unit didn’t combine to score a point until the second half. They’ll get Iman Shumpert back on Friday night in Chicago, but Kyle Korver is still not quite ready – nursing the sore left foot that’s kept him out of eight of his last 11 games.

Richard Jefferson has been solid all season and, even with a poor showing on Monday in San Antonio, is shooting 53 percent from the floor over his past nine games. Channing Frye has notched double-figures in all three meetings against Chicago this season, averaging 12.3 points on 54 percent shooting, including 48 percent from long-range. Frye has tallied double-figures in 30 games so far this season.

Unlike the Cavs, the Bulls’ reserves are a young bunch – led by rookie Denzel Valentine, who finished with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting in his last appearance in Cleveland. Joffrey Lauvergne was still with the Thunder when he finished with 13 points and six boards off the bench against the Wine and Gold.

Christiano Felicio – who netted 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting to go with five boards and a +19 number – has missed the previous three games with a tailbone injury, but he could return for Thursday night’s meeting at the United Center.

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KeyBank Five Keys: Cavaliers at Bulls

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The Cavaliers play their second straight road game on Thursday night, taking on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center before returning to The Q on Friday night. This is the fourth and final meeting between the two Central Division rivals this season, with Chicago in position for the season-sweep. Overall, the Cavaliers have lost four straight to the Bulls. Tipoff from the United Center is at 8:00 p.m. (ET).

CAVS TO GO NAVY IN CHICAGO.
        The Cavaliers look for their first win against the Bulls this season.

The Wine and Gold are 5-5 in their last 10 games and are tied with the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with their 47-26 record.

Coming into Thursday night, the Cavs are averaging 110.0 points per game this season (1st in the East, 4th-best in the NBA) while the Bulls give up 103.4 points per game (4th in the East, 8th in the NBA).

The Cavs have already made a franchise single season record 945 three-pointers in 2016-17. That is the 3rd-most triples hit by any NBA team in a single season, trailing only Golden State in 2015-16 (1,077 3FGM) and Houston this season (1,075 3FGM).

Chicago enters Thursday's contest winners of three of their last five games and currently sit in the 9th spot in the East at 35-39, and only one and half games behind the Indiana Pacers.

With Dwyane Wade out with an elbow injury, they have relied heavily on Jimmy Butler, who comes into the game averaging 26.7 points over his last five games.

Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.

Status Update: (Cavs) - Kyle Korver (left foot soreness) – OUT, Iman Shumpert (right knee soreness) – QUESTIONABLE

Status Update: (Bulls) - Cristiano Felício (lower back contusion) and Dwyane Wade (right elbow sprain) are OUT.

As mentioned, the Bulls have won all three matchups this season and four in a row overall over the Cavaliers. The last time the Wine and Gold defeated the Bulls at the United Center was October 31st, 2014.

LeBron James comes into Thursday's matchup playing well in the month of March (13 games), including 9 double-doubles and 4 triple-doubles, while averaging 27.2 points on .545 shooting, 10.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 37.2 minutes of action.

He has scored 20 or more points in 10 consecutive games against the Bulls, including four contests in which he has poured in at least 30 points. This season versus Chicago, he is averaging 29.0 points on .581 shooting, 10.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds in 40.5 minutes.

Kyrie Irving poured in a game-high 34 points on 13-25 (.520) shooting, to go along with a team-high tying nine rebounds, a team-best seven assists and a block in 35 minutes in the last matchup with the Bulls on Feb. 25.

In 17 career games against the Bulls, Kevin Love is averaging 16.9 points and 10.5 rebounds in 31.9 minutes. Love currently ranks 2nd in the Eastern Conference and 5th in the NBA in first quarter scoring, averaging 8.0 points.

Channing Frye scored in double figures in all three meetings against the Bulls this season and is averaging 12.3 points on .536 shooting and a .476 (7-15) mark from deep, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 27.7 minutes in those three contests.

The Cavaliers wrap up the month of March on Friday night at The Q against the Sixers. Cleveland has seven regular season games remaining in April – four at home and three on the road, wrapping up with Fan Appreciation Night on the 12th vs. Toronto. FIND SEATS | VIEW FULL SCHEDULE

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#CavsBulls Game Preview - March 30, 2017

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3‑30‑17 at Bulls

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