Less than two minutes into the Chicago Bulls’ meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Billy Donovan was calling a timeout. The Bulls were quickly down 7-0 after De’Andre Hunter drained a triple. Chicago was less than 24 hours removed from playing the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup. It showed. Cleveland was also less than 24 hours removed from suiting up for the NBA Cup, but they dropped 148 points on the Wizards and only got to rest their starters in the second half. It showed. Evan Mobley was especially hot, scoring 11 of the Cavaliers’ first 22 points. Nevertheless, the Bulls didn’t panic. This team’s biggest strength has been its depth, and this proved itself again toward the end of the first quarter. The momentum completely shifted as Donovan called on his bench. Chicago rattled off a 14-8 run to close out the frame and made things a one-possession game. Ayo Dosunmu proceeded to open up the second quarter with an and-one layup. The Bulls now had the lead and the confidence. Jalen Smith was a major part of the turnaround, scoring 11 points with 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 11 minutes of action. He would go into halftime a ridiculous +22, helping the Bulls’ bench outscore the Cavs’ second unit 35-14. The further we got into the half, the uglier the Cavs’ offense became. At one point, they missed 13 straight threes. Donovan Mitchell even started the night 1-10! The Bulls deserve a lot of credit for taking full advantage of the Cavs’ crumble. They shot 14 free throws in the second quarter alone and went 6-8 from downtown. They also had a 19-7 edge in fastbreak points. Everything was working on the offensive end. But we all knew that wasn’t going to scare the reigning No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers came out calm and collected. Four of their five starters scored within the first three minutes, and they suddenly had a 12-0 run. A Hunter three would eventually cut the Bulls’ lead to 76-73. While they were able to keep the Cavs at arm’s length over the next couple of minutes, the comeback felt inevitable, especially with Donovan Mitchell back in a rhythm. His three with 3:18 left in the third officially erased what was once a 19-point advantage. Two possessions later, he knocked down another. The only reason the Bulls were able to reclaim the lead before the fourth quarter tipped off was because of Smith. The backup big man remained red hot and tipped in a bucket before coming back down the floor and draining his fourth three of the game. Matching up against a Cavaliers team that sits right behind Chicago in PACE and has some versatile size in the frontcourt, Smith fit into this game extremely well. His mobility and verticality offered something the Bulls needed against Evan Mobley and Company. It truly felt like anybody’s game going into he fourth quarter, which is really a testament to the resilience of both these teams. Yes, the Bulls deserve a slap on the wrist for blowing the sizable lead, but they bounced back from a slow start early on and eventually stopped the bleeding in the third quarter. The old version of this team would have easily let this game slip away. The fourth quarter was hectic and physical. Both teams were looking to get into their offense fast, but this worked most heavily in the Bulls’ favor. They ended up in the bonus with 6:56 left to go in the game. Thanks largely to Tre Jones, they leaned on the charity stripe to keep their slight lead for most of the quarter. The guard was excellent in the second half and finished the night 11-12 on freebies. Nevertheless, with this game as tight as it was in the final minutes, it came down to who had the best player on the floor. After an extremely questionable Isaac Okoro shot-chuck, Donovan Mitchell flew to the rim for the and-one layup. He gave the Cavs a 123-122 lead with 33.4 seconds left, ultimately finishing with 25 points in the second half. Cleveland would close out the game on a 12-0 run overall and secure the 128-122 win. As much as it pains me to say, this game served as another painful reminder of why having a superstar matters. We learned early on this year that the Bulls can be a very solid team thanks to their identity and depth. But when the game is on the line, the best teams know who they can turn to. Yesterday, it was the Greek Freak. Tonight, it was Spida. Will it be Wemby on Monday? Player Grades: Jalen Smith – AStats: 18 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST When the Bulls were down early, Jalen Smith brought them back in it. When the Cavaliers were closing in on them in the third, it was Jalen Smith who stopped the bleeding. What a game for the reserve. Ayo Dosunmu – A-Stats: 14 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST After a tough return last night, Ayo Dosunmu looked a lot more like his former self and shot 5-11 from the field. His +11 performance was the second-best on the team behind only Smith. Isaac Okoro – B+Stats: 19 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST I have to admit, a part of me wants to drop him a full letter grade for that awful 24-footer with the game on the line. He has to look for a better shot than that. At the same time, this was a solid revenge game from the forward, and he was more aggressive than ever on the offensive end. Kevin Huerter – BStats: 15 PTS, 3 AST, 3 REB, 3 STL Kevin Huerter continues to impress. There are times when I think he gets a little too comfortable with the ball in his hands, but it’s hard to complain about his all-around effort over the first couple of weeks of this season. He’s been aggressive and physical on both ends of the floor. Tre Jones – BStats: 17 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL Tre Jones was struggling early on, but he settled in and did everything he could to secure the win in the fourth quarter. Another smart and energetic performance from him. Patrick Williams – CStats: 11 PTS, 2 AST, 1 REB A solid effort from Patrick Williams, who went 3-4 from downtown. Nonetheless, it’s always a bummer to see him come down with only a single rebound. Josh Giddey – C-Stats: 15 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL The Cavaliers continue to be a very bad matchup for Josh Giddey, who shot a dismal 5-18 from the field. Nikola Vucevic – C-Stats: 9 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST I guess the Bulls didn’t need a ton from Nikola Vucevic tonight with Jalen Smith playing so well, but they surely could have used some late-game buckets from him. He’s been very good in crunch time up until tonight. Matas Buzelis – D+Stats: 4 PTS, 4 REB Billy Donovan only played him 17 minutes. That says it all. Learn from it. Chicago Bulls Box Score: Check out the full box score here.
