Jimmy Butler then broke up an inbounds pass intended for James as time expired.
Advertisement
Despite a slow start offensively for both teams, the Cavaliers found their shot when shooting guard J.R. Smith buried a 26-foot-three-pointer with 8:19 left to play in the first quarter.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg doesn’t have any reservations playing Rose, either. But his back-court partner, former MVP Derrick Rose, has missed an astonishing 212 games in the past four seasons and wore a protective mask in this one as he recovers from a fractured nose.
Mirotic nailed 3 three-pointers and came up big down the stretch. Mo Willians started in placed of the injured Kyrie Irving and scored 19 points and seven assists.
James is relishing his role as leader of the Cavs and as the reigning conference champions, all roads to the Finals lead through Cleveland.
Mirotic immediately converted a three-point play after getting fouled by Tristan Thompson on a baseline floater. They held the Cavs to just 40.4% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc, James being the only starting five player to shoot over 50% from the field on the Cavs.
The Bulls had a lead of eight at 95-87 with a minute and a half to go, which was quickly erased by the Cavaliers who were in position to tie the game late. Bulls fans got a scare when Rose came up limping slightly after stepping on LeBron’s foot during a drive to the basket.
He received loud cheers a little while later when, during a break in play, a ball rolled across toward him and he bounced it back across the other side of the court.
US President Barack Obama was in attendance as his favorite team, the Chicago Bulls, edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-95 earlier this morning.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 21 points led balanced scoring in the Pistons’ 106-94 win over the Hawks. They also got key contributions from the bench, as Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah each had 10 and 9 rebounds respectively. He returned to form past year before tearing his Achilles in December and missing the rest of the season, but he could well become an important part of the Cavaliers rotation in the coming weeks.
The Memphis Grizzlies will host the Cleveland Cavaliers today, October 28, at the FedExForum in Memphis, which could be an advantage on their end.
Every playoff game during last season’s run was an announced sellout with 18,119 strong, and they are expecting another full house for the opener.
Advertisement
Atlanta acquired 6-foot-11 Tiago Splitter from San Antonio but it made no immediate difference for one of the NBA’s worst rebounding teams.
