The NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers twice defeated the Chicago Bulls during a season-opening 15-game winning streak.
On Tuesday, they hope to extend their latest double-digit surge at the expense of host Chicago.
Cleveland totes a 10-game winning streak into the matchup with the struggling Bulls, its third run this season of at least that many games.
While the Cavaliers became the first NBA team this season to earn 50 victories, their latest spurt includes a bit of novelty. Cleveland played its first overtime game of the season Sunday, edging the Portland Trail Blazers 133-129. De’Andre Hunter contributed 32 points on 8-for-15 shooting as leading scorer Donovan Mitchell (24.3 points a game) was held out to rest.
The Cavs also have needed to channel their comeback ability lately; they’ve won consecutive games after trailing by 18 points or more for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Cleveland hopes to play from ahead against Chicago while ideally finding a rhythm both offensively and overall. The Cavaliers felt restricted throughout Sunday’s game, which featured a combined 53 personal fouls and 70 free throws.
That, too, presented Cleveland with a different wrinkle.
“There’s a lot of whistles out there (Sunday), but I think we did a good job playing through it and not letting it affect our game plan,” Hunter said.
Despite losing eight of their past 10 games, the Bulls entered Monday with a two-game lead on Philadelphia for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference and the final spot in the East play-in tournament. Brooklyn (2 1/2 games out) and Toronto (five) also are in the hunt.
After rallying from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to top visiting Toronto on Friday, Chicago struggled down the stretch of a 127-112 loss Sunday at Indiana. Problems with physicality and finishing in the closing stages resurfaced for the Bulls.
Missing big man Nikola Vucevic (right calf tightness) for the fourth straight game, Chicago was outscored 32-20 in the fourth quarter. Bulls coach Billy Donovan said the team must accelerate its toughness regardless of when Vucevic returns to the lineup, which could come as soon as Tuesday.
“We’ve got to get better,” Donovan said. “Some of our younger guys being exposed in those situations, close to the basket, loose balls, jump ball situations. … Those kinds of things we need to get better at. … Some of those teams when they look to change momentum in a game, generally the way you change momentum in a game is not by making shots — although that helps — it’s generally ramping up the physicality.”
Coby White has averaged 25 points in the past two games for the Bulls.
Cleveland will aim to maintain its recent dominance in the series.
The Cavaliers have won nine of the past 10 meetings between the Central Division rivals, including victories by six and 18 points, respectively, in Chicago and Cleveland in mid-November.
Mitchell fueled the Cavs’ Nov. 15 home win with 37 points to outduel White, who scored 29.
Vucevic averaged 23 points and 9.7 rebounds in his last three games against Cleveland.
–Field Level Media
