James Harden scored 36 points with seven three-pointers, Evan Mobley added 26 points and 14 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived a furious Chicago rally to beat the Bulls 115-110 on Thursday night at the United Center. Cleveland built a 29-point lead in the third quarter before Chicago outscored the Cavaliers 37-22 in the fourth and pulled within a single point. The Cavaliers improve to 43-27. The Bulls fall to 28-42 and have now lost four of their last five games.
Tre Jones led Chicago with 20 points and Rob Dillingham added a season-high 17 off the bench. Nick Richards finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Matas Buzelis had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks but struggled from deep, shooting 2-of-9 from three. Josh Giddey scored only 9 points on 4-of-11 shooting but dished 19 assists — one of the highest single-game totals in the NBA this season — to go with 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Guerschon Yabusele contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. The Cavaliers played without seven-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who sat with a bruised left eye suffered in a practice collision with Mobley. Jalen Smith (right calf strain) and Isaac Okoro (right knee) remained out for Chicago.
Down 29, the Bulls Almost Pulled It Off
The first three quarters belonged to Cleveland. Harden set the tone immediately, scoring 16 points in the first quarter on 4-of-9 shooting with four threes — including back-to-back triples that stretched what had been a modest Cavaliers lead into a 10-point gap. Chicago answered only in spurts: Sexton scored 4 early, Giddey hit a three and dished 6 first-quarter assists, and Jones added 4. But Cleveland's balance was the difference. Thomas Bryant contributed 5 off the bench, Jaylon Tyson had 5, and the Cavaliers led 32-22 after one.
The second quarter followed a similar script. Mobley began asserting himself inside with 8 points on 3-of-6 shooting, Tyson added 6 more on 3-of-6, and Schroder chipped in 5 off the bench. Giddey, who would finish the half with 11 assists, could not find his own shot — he went 0-of-2 from the field with 2 turnovers in 11 second-quarter minutes. Jones hit a pair of threes (both assisted, one by Yabusele) and Dillingham scored 5, but the Bulls shot just 7-of-19 in the period and trailed 61-45 at the break.
The third quarter was Cleveland's best and worst stretch combined. The Cavaliers extended their lead to 29 behind Mobley, who scored 12 points in the period on 6-of-9 shooting with multiple dunks including an alley-oop off a Harden assist. Harden added 8 points and 4 assists. The Bulls looked buried. But Dillingham, who had been quiet in the first half, came alive with 10 third-quarter points on 4-of-7 shooting including two threes. Richards hit a three off a Giddey assist. It was not enough to change the trajectory — Cleveland still led 93-73 entering the fourth — but it planted the seed of what was to come.
The fourth quarter was a different game entirely. Chicago outscored Cleveland 37-22 and came within a single point of tying it. The rally was fueled by everyone: Giddey had 7 assists and 6 points in 12 fourth-quarter minutes at a +15, finding teammates in space with a frequency that overwhelmed Cleveland's closing-unit defense. Yabusele was enormous off the bench — 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting including two threes and 5 rebounds in 12 minutes at a +15 of his own. Leonard Miller scored 10 on 4-of-7 with a three. Jones made two free throws with 3:33 remaining to cut it to 103-102 — one point.
Cleveland steadied itself just in time. Sam Merrill answered Jones's free throws with a 27-foot three off a Keon Ellis assist to push the lead back to 106-102. The Bulls kept pressing — Jones hit more free throws, Miller scored again — but with the Cavaliers up 110-107, Jones missed a potential tying three and Miller missed a layup with about a minute remaining. Harden, who had been held to 7 fourth-quarter points on 3-of-6 shooting, hit the shot that mattered most: an 18-foot pull-up jumper with 33 seconds left to make it 112-107. Cleveland hung on from there. The final: Cavaliers 115, Bulls 110.
Team Statistics
| Category | Cavaliers | Bulls |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | 40-91 (44%) | 42-94 (45%) |
| Three Pointers | 14-41 (34%) | 15-44 (34%) |
| Free Throws | 21-31 (68%) | 11-17 (65%) |
| Rebounds | 54 | 47 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 16 | 12 |
| Assists | 26 | 27 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 16 |
| Points off Turnovers | 23 | 19 |
| Steals | 11 | 11 |
| Blocks | 5 | 7 |
| Points in Paint | 46 | 50 |
| Fast Break Points | 4 | 19 |
| Largest Lead | 29 | 9 |
Giddey's 19 Assists and the Fourth Quarter That Almost Was
Giddey's 19 assists are impossible to ignore even in a loss. He finished 4-of-11 from the field with 5 turnovers and a minus-5 for the game, which tells you that Chicago was still being outscored when he was on the floor for the first 25 minutes. But the fourth quarter flipped the script. He posted 7 assists, 6 points on 3-of-5 shooting, and a +15 in 12 minutes — directing the comeback with a level of poise and precision that stood in direct contrast to Wednesday's zero-rebound disaster against Toronto. Giddey found Miller for a three, found Yabusele for a layup and a three, found Richards for an alley-oop and a layup, and created driving lanes that gave the Bulls' shooters clean looks on the perimeter. The assists were not incidental. They were the comeback.
The question that lingers is the three quarters before that. Giddey had 12 assists in the first three periods but scored just 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting with 5 turnovers and a -20 across those 25 minutes. Cleveland's defense funneled him into contested pull-ups and long threes that he had no business taking, and he obliged. The 19-assist game is a reminder of the ceiling. The 4-of-11 shooting night is a reminder that the ceiling and the floor continue to coexist, sometimes within the same game.
Dillingham's season-high 17 points deserve their own attention. He shot 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from three, and his 10-point third quarter — featuring two threes and a pullup jumper, all with pace and confidence — was the spark that kept Chicago close enough for the fourth-quarter rally to be possible. When Dillingham is attacking downhill and pulling up in rhythm, he provides exactly the kind of instant-offense spark Chicago needs off the bench.
Yabusele quietly assembled one of his best games as a Bull: 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 29 minutes. His fourth quarter was the most impactful stretch — 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with 5 rebounds and a +15 in 12 minutes. He hit two threes, grabbed two offensive boards, and provided the kind of veteran steadiness that a young team needs when it is trying to close a 20-point gap. Richards contributed 16 and 8 with 4 offensive rebounds, though his 1-of-4 from the free throw line left points on the table in a game that ended up being decided by 5.
Looking Ahead
The Bulls are 28-42 and sit 22.5 games behind Detroit in the Central Division. Chicago has now lost four of its last five and is 4-11 since the All-Star break. The homestand continues Monday night against Houston at 7:00 p.m. CT. Thursday's loss stings more than most because the effort was there — the fourth quarter proved this team can compete with anyone when the ball is moving and the young players are aggressive. But a 29-point hole against a Cleveland team missing its best player is not something you can afford to dig yourself into, no matter how spirited the comeback.
For Cleveland, the win moves the Cavaliers to 43-27 and extends their winning streak to two games. They held on despite a sloppy fourth quarter in which every starter posted a negative plus-minus and the team scored just 22 points. Mitchell's bruised left eye, suffered in a practice collision with Mobley, is not considered serious according to coach Kenny Atkinson, but the seven-time All-Star sat Thursday after playing through the injury in Tuesday's win at Milwaukee. Cleveland visits New Orleans on Saturday.