Darius Garland scored 24 points and dished six assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers overwhelmed the shorthanded Chicago Bulls with a stingy defensive effort to win, 115-92, on Wednesday in Cleveland.
Chicago, riding a four-game winning streak into Wednesday’s matchup, was without DeMar DeRozan, Coby White and Javonte Green due to health and safety protocols, and Alex Caruso with a hamstring injury.
The Cavaliers capitalized on the Bulls’ lack of depth, scoring 39 bench points compared with just 16 from Chicago’s reserves.
Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love set the tone off of the Cleveland bench with 11 points apiece, while Dean Wade shot 3 of 4 from 3-point range for nine points.
Wade was one of three Cavaliers to hit three 3-pointers, joining Garland at 3 of 7 and Love, who went 3 of 6. Lauri Markkanen added 2-for-4 3-point shooting en route to 14 points.
Cleveland shot 13 of 28 from long range while holding Chicago to just 7 of 26 from deep. Lonzo Ball accounted for more than half of the Bulls’ successful 3-pointers, making 4 of 9 attempts.
Ball finished with 19 points to go along with seven assists and three steals, while Zach LaVine led Chicago with 23 points and nine assists. Nikola Vucevic recorded a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bulls went just 35 of 84 from the floor and committed 17 turnovers.
Cleveland coughed up possession 14 times, but the Cavaliers’ sharp shooting made the difference.
Each of the five Cleveland starters scored at least nine points, with Jarrett Allen joining Garland and Markkanen in double figures at 13 points. He grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Evan Mobley shot 8 of 11 from the floor for 16 points, blocked five shots and made two steals to bolster Cleveland’s stout defensive performance. Mobley also grabbed nine rebounds.
Isaac Okoro rounded out Cleveland’s starting five with nine points on 4-for-7 shooting.
–Field Level Media