Shorthanded Cavaliers fall to Bulls 117-99
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting closer to having the team they will take into the playoffs to defend their title and The Land. A horribly kept secret, reports surfaced Saturday evening that recently waived point guard Deron Williams will sign with the Cavs on Monday after he cleared waivers hours before Cleveland took on the Chicago Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs, though, may not be done making moves yet.
If Williams does sign with the Cavs, the backup point guard spot will be filled. But Cleveland could still use another big man, which reportedly could be a bought-out Andrew Bogut or free agent Larry Sanders, who the team met with this week.
Cleveland was less complete than normal Saturday as LeBron James didn’t play against Chicago because of an illness. Cleveland lost each of the three games James previously missed this season by an average of 11.3 points per game, and not much changed Saturday night. Cleveland dropped their third game of the season to Chicago, falling 117-99.
“I thought we competed,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said. “They just had a little bit more than we did tonight.”
Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 34 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but without James, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith, Irving didn’t receive much help. Only one other starter reached double-figures in scoring, Channing Frye with 11 points. James Jones and Kyle Korver chipped-in 14 points apiece.
There were several highlights in a closely contested first half, but the most notable had to have been Derrick Williams’ posterization of Brazil native Cristiano Felicio. As he cut to the rim, Williams received the assist from rookie point guard Kay Felder and crammed a ferocious dunk that brought The Q crowd to their feet. The play gave Cleveland a 37-35 lead with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter.
The Cavs took a 56-55 lead into halftime, aided by Jimmy Butler’s struggles from the field. Butler didn’t score his first points of the night until the 2:11 mark of the second quarter, but he did total seven points and seven assists in the first half. Cleveland led 65-59 after an Irving jumper with just under three minutes passed in the third quarter, but everything went downhill from there.
Chicago closed the third quarter with a 30-11 run to take a healthy 89-76 lead into the fourth. If not for a James Jones three-pointer just before the third quarter expired, the Bulls’ run could have looked worse. By the time Chicago rookie forward Denzel Valentine splashed a three-pointer with 9:14 to play, the Bulls’ lead swelled to 98-78 and fans began heading for the exits. The Cavs never recovered.
“We missed shots,” Lue said of the Bulls’ third quarter run. “I thought we got sped up a little bit. We didn’t move the ball as good as we did in the first half.”
After his slow start, Butler totaled a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebonds and 10 assists. Dwyane Wade nearly had a triple-double himself, finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.
It’s unclear if James will be ready to play when the Cavs close their four-game homestand on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Saturday night, the Cavs were reminded what it’s like to not have him on the floor.
POSTED 02/25/2017 23:39
Lake County Sentinel
Photo by Greg Goth
