The Bulls have played just four games in the last 11 days because they didn’t advance in the NBA Cup tournament.
The lengthy layoff afforded them more practice time to reintegrate players and take a hard reset after a recent downturn, highlighted by a seven-game skid. The Bulls narrowly beat a young but exciting Hornets team Friday and showed better defensive intensity in a loss to the Pelicans on Sunday.
But competing and beating bottom-dwellers isn’t enough to satisfy Bulls fans. Wednesday was the first of a rare baseball-style two-game set against the Cavaliers, one of the favorites to come out of the East.
The Bulls won 127-111 for their first home win in 25 days and their first win against the Cavs in 658 days. It was their largest margin of victory this season, as the Bulls were more active defensively with 12 steals and made the proper defensive rotations.
“Guys I think understood the level of sacrifice and kind of wanting to fulfill a role,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We got to try to get back to one, being whole, and then to trying to create our identity. [Tonight] is probably a lot closer to the way we played earlier in the year.”
The offense was also better. Coby White (25 points) and Josh Giddey — who finished with his sixth triple-double of the season (23 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) and tied his career high with five three-pointers — were relentless attacking the rim and challenging shot-blocker Jarrett Allen and backup center Thomas Bryant. Seven Bulls finished in double figures, and the team had 35 assists.
White had a slick inside-hand finish in the third quarter against Bryant. But more important, the Bulls weren’t stagnant.
The offense had 85 points at the 6:53 mark of the third quarter, a clear sign that it was humming. Even though the Bulls didn’t make a high amount of threes, the offense was still productive because of the countless drives, sucking in the Cavs’ defense and drawing a foul or finding a cutter at the rim.
“I think tonight was probably the most unselfish we played in a long time,” Giddey said. “Early on, when we were playing the right way and winning games, I thought we had multiple guys. That’s when we’re at our best as a team.”
Tre Jones (11 points, 11 assists) was vital in keeping the ball moving, and the Cavs were very susceptible to back cuts.
The Bulls also won the rebounding battle 43-40, which was key. They kept turnovers low (15) and outscored the Cavs in transition 25-14.
The Bulls will need to repeat that performance Friday in Cleveland. White said Sunday that the team is running out of time to figure things out, and with the hole they dug themselves in, they’ll need more performances like Wednesday’s.
“[The Cavs] are a really good team,” Giddey said. “They have championship aspirations. They’ll respond the way they have to, and basically it’s up to us to come out in Cleveland to the first punch, you know, kind of carry off where we left from this game.”