Bulls Sprint Past Shorthanded Cavaliers, 127-111

Coby White scored 25 points in the Bulls win over the Cavaliers. (Destiny Little/The Bigs)

Reset the count. 

The Chicago Bulls, who’ve struggled with consistency and haven’t strung together more than two consecutive wins since their fast start, bounced back into the win column with a 127-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

On a night when the Cavaliers were missing three rotation players, including reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, the Bulls were near full strength for the second time this season.

“It’s been tough with the number of guys going down in the rotation and what we’ve had to deal with,” Billy Donovan said. “When you get bodies back, that always helps.” 

The victory snapped a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers, who’ve won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the two teams. 

The Bulls trailed by nine points less than five minutes into the ballgame. But they took a 62-58 lead into the half on account of the zone defense they utilized when Jalen Smith and Zach Collins were on the court together.

That duo’s success led to shorter rotational stints for Nikola Vućević, who still tallied 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists in just 29 minutes of action. 

“I thought [Smith and Collins], in the first quarter and part of the second quarter, did a really nice job when we played big,” Donovan said. “That’s what we’re gonna have to do. Everybody’s gonna have to kind of complement each other.”

The Bulls scored the first seven points in a third quarter in which they held as much as a 19-point advantage. The Cavaliers cut it to six late in the quarter, but the Bulls pumped their back up to double digits early in the fourth stanza and never looked back. 

Coby White (25) led seven Bulls in scoring, while Josh Giddey notched a 23-point, 11-rebound and 11-assist triple-double, his sixth of the season.

As a team with little room for error, the Bulls did well to outscore the Cavaliers in fast-break points (25-14) and second-chance points (12-8). They also shot 14-for-36 from deep, led by Giddey who knocked five of the 11 treys Cleveland was more than willing to give him.

The Bulls improved to 11-15 — their record through 26 games last season — and are 6-15 since reeling off five wins to begin the season. 

They finish their home-and-home series with the Cavaliers on Friday. 

“There’s a lot we can improve upon,” Smith said. We want to take this game as a lesson and just continue to keep building upon.

“We’re on our way back.” 

No-Go for Ayo 

Aye Dosunmu missed his third consecutive game. After previously being listed out with a sprained right thumb, Dosunmu revealed that he’s not only dealing with a pair of sprained thumbs but a bone bruise in his right one as well. 

Nevertheless, Billy Donovan said he expects Dosunmu to travel with the team to finish off its home-and-home series with the Cavs on Friday.