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01/21/19 04:05:00
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01/21 16:03 CST Bulls snap 10-game losing streak, beat Cavaliers 104-88
Bulls snap 10-game losing streak, beat Cavaliers 104-88
By STEVE HERRICK
Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) --- Somebody was bound to break a long skid Monday --- Zach
LaVine and the Chicago Bulls seized the opportunity.
LaVine scored 25 points and the Bulls broke a 10-game losing streak, beating
the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-88 in a meeting of teams that began the day with
the worst records in the NBA.
"It stinks to lose 10 in row," said guard Kris Dunn, who scored 13 points and
was one of five Bulls to hit double figures. "A game like this can galvanize
us."
Chicago (11-36) never trailed and has won all three games this season against
Cleveland (9-39), which has lost 16 of 17 overall.
"We talked about the first quarter starts," Bulls coach Jim Boylen said. "Our
energy and spirit were good, kind of gave us momentum into the rest of the
game."
The Bulls hit 15 of 29 3-pointers and built a 21-point lead in the fourth
quarter. Chicago won for the first time since Dec. 28 against Washington.
Bobby Portis had 15 points while Lauri Markkanen added 13 for the Bulls, who
have rolled to two lopsided wins at Cleveland in less than a month.
The Bulls defeated the Cavaliers 99-98 in Chicago on Nov. 10 and routed
Cleveland 112-92 on Dec. 23 at Quicken Loans Arena.
Rookie Collin Sexton scored 18 points, but had no assists in 29 minutes for the
Cavaliers. Ante Zizic, who is seeing playing time because of injuries in
Cleveland's frontcourt, had 13 points.
Chicago hit 12 of 22 shots in the first quarter and built a 15-point lead late
in the period. Cleveland cut into the margin and trailed by six at halftime
before the Bulls regained control by making five 3-pointers in the third
quarter.
"We got a lot from a lot of guys," Boylen said. "Kris was very good. Zach was
real efficient, which we need him to be."
The Cavaliers, in addition to dealing with several injuries, looked like a
tired team after going 1-5 on a road trip that ended Saturday night in Denver.
Cleveland missed its first eight shots and coach Larry Drew called timeout less
than four minutes into the game.
"I'm not going to use that as an excuse or as crutch," Drew said. "Early on, I
could see they did not have their legs. We clearly didn't have the zap. I
really thought at some point it would kick in, but we did not have it."
TIP-INS
Bulls: The team announced after the game that C Wendell Carter Jr. had
successful surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb
Monday morning. The rookie is expected to be sidelined for eight to 12 weeks.
The surgery was performed by Dr. John Fernandez at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush
Hospital in Chicago ... Robin Lopez started at center and Portis saw minutes in
the pivot. ... LaVine dunked off an alley-oop pass from Kris Dunn in the second
quarter.
Cavaliers: C Tristan Thompson missed his third straight game because of a sore
left foot. "As long as he's feeling any kind of discomfort, we're going to keep
him out," Drew said. Thompson missed 10 games in December with the injury. ...
F Larry Nance Jr. is expected to miss two more weeks with a sprained right knee.
TOUGH TRIP
The Cavaliers' 11-day trip began Jan. 9 and finally ended Saturday. Cleveland
broke a 12-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Lakers, playing without
the injured LeBron James, on Jan. 13.
The Cavaliers returned to Cleveland at 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Their flight landed in
the middle of a snowstorm that began early Saturday and lasted about 24 hours.
The storm, which dumped about a foot of snow on the area, and made the drive
home a challenge.
"A few guys got stuck in snow," Drew said. "We were out in the middle of the
intersection pushing cars. I don't believe I closed my eyes until about 6:30."
GOOD BALANCE
Chicago had 11 players score and five were in double figures. Jabari Parker hit
two 3-pointers early in the fourth and finished with 10. Lopez had eight points
and nine rebounds.
NO ADVANTAGE
The Cavaliers haven't won at home since Dec. 12 against New York. Cleveland has
lost eight in a row at Quicken Loans Arena.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host Atlanta on Wednesday.
Cavaliers: Visit Boston on Wednesday.
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