CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers’ injury carousel continues as they face the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 8 at Rocket Arena.
The Cavs are without All-Star guard Darius Garland, who played the previous night against the Washington Wizards. Cleveland wants to be cautious for a bit, so Garland won’t play back-to-back nights just yet, hence his absence against the Bulls.
Follow below for live score updates, analysis and highlights from Cavs (6-3) versus Bulls (6-2) on Nov. 8 at Rocket Arena. Tip-off occurred at 8:10 p.m.
Coming out of a timeout, the Cavs went to forward Evan Mobley, and he rewarded them with a three-point play, giving them an 18-15 edge with 5:33 left in the first quarter. The foul picked up by Isaac Okoro, formerly of the Cavs, was his second of the game and led to him checking out of the game with 5:15 remaining.
On the Cavs’ next two possessions, Mobley scored again, the first time on a dunk with guard Sam Merrill assisting and the second time with Mobley driving for a layup (but missing a subsequent foul shot for a would-be three-point play) on an assist from point guard Lonzo Ball.
An offensive rebound grabbed by center Jarrett Allen led to Allen making a layup on an assist from Merrill with 3:47 left in the first quarter. The sequence resulted in 24-15 Cavs lead amid a 9-0 run by Cleveland.
Forward Jalen Smith halted the Bulls’ scoring drought with a 3-pointer, and guard Tre Jones made a subsequent fast-break layup.
Guard Donovan Mitchell’s successful floater and an alley-oop from Merrill to Allen put the Cavs ahead 28-20 and led to a Bulls timeout with 2:31 left in the first quarter.
Familiar faces dueled during a sequence midway through the first quarter. Bulls small forward Isaac Okoro made a wide-open 3-pointer, and Cavs point guard Lonzo Ball missed a 3 badly on the next possession.
Then Bulls forward Patrick Williams drained a 3, and Chicago trailed 15-13. A layup by center Nikola Vucevic on a nifty pass from guard Josh Giddey tied the score 15-15 and sent the Cavs into a timeout with 5:44 left in the opening quarter.
With 7:20 left in the first quarter, small forward De’Andre Hunter made a floater while drawing a foul from Isaac Okoro. Hunter made the foul shot to complete the three-point play and put the Cavs ahead 13-7.
The Bulls scored for the first time with 9:10 left in the first quarter, when guard Josh Giddey made a fast-break layup. Forward Patrick Williams followed with a 3-pointer, trimming the Bulls’ deficit to 8-5 with 8:36 left in the opening quarter.
The Cavs traded Isaac Okoro to the Bulls in the offseason in a deal bringing Lonzo Ball to Cleveland.
With 10:27 left in the first quarter, Okoro received a warm welcome from their Cavs with a tribute video on the scoreboards. Cleveland fans also gave Okoro a good ovation, and he gestured to the crowd in appreciation.
The Cavs started strong, with good ball movement leading to assists on each of their first three field goals. Small forward De’Andre Hunter drained a 3-pointer on an assist from guard Jaylon Tyson, giving the Cavs a 7-0 lead and prompting the Bulls to spend a timeout. It was Hunter’s 600th career 3.
The Bulls had more than one topic to discuss. Defense aside, they started the game with two turnovers.
Below is some pregame information.
Darius Garland (toe management) and Larry Nance Jr. (knee) are both out. The Cavs are simply being cautious with Garland on a back-to-back. Nance took a hit on a knee-to-knee.
Dean Wade, who was poked in the eye against the 76ers, is good to go tonight.
The Cavs announced the following players will start against the Bulls:
- Guard Donovan Mitchell
- Guard Jaylon Tyson
- Small forward De’Andre Hunter
- Forward Evan Mobley
- Center Jarrett Allen
The Cavs and former Buchtel player Chris Livingston agreed to terms on a two-way deal. The team confirmed the deal on Nov. 4. The Akron native has been playing for the Cleveland Charge thus far.
The Nov. 8 Cavs-Bulls game can be viewed locally on the FanDuel Sports Network — Ohio. It can heard on the radio on 100.7 WMMS, 1100 WTAM and S: LA MEGA 1300.
