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Wall, Porter Jr. Lead Wizards Past Knicks, 113-110

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NEW YORK — John Wall recorded a double-double with 29 points and 13 assists, Otto Porter Jr. added 23 points and the Washington Wizards held off the New York Knicks 113-110 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

Wall closed out the contest by scoring the last four points and then stole the ball from Brandon Jennings to prevent New York from attempting a potential 3-pointer, while Porter Jr. made six 3-pointers for the second straight night for Washington.

“Just trying to make the big-time plays,” Wall said after the win. “But, if it’s me scoring or me passing, I’m going to live with the results if it’s the right read and the right play, and tonight I came up with some big shots and we won.”

Markieff Morris ended with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks and Marcin Gortat grabbed a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards (22-19), who was winning four-straight.

“It’s good to get a road win. We’ve had so many last-second shots on the road that didn’t go our way,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said.

“It’s nice to get a close-out tonight.”

Carmelo Anthony led New York with 34 points and 10 rebounds, but went cold after a record-setting second quarter – scoring only seven of his total in the second half and went just 2-of-12 after halftime.

Derrick Rose added 20 points, Kristaps Porzingis returned from injury to score 15 off the bench, while Kyle O’Quinn finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the defeat for the Knicks (19-24).

Washington outscored the Knicks 38-27 in the opening period, but the home side responded with a 40-28 second quarter performance, with Anthony erupting before the interval.

Carmelo Anthony Record Setting 2nd Quarter

Anthony scored 27 points in the first half, including a Knicks franchise-record 25 points in the second quarter, as New York, which trailed by as many as 13 in the first period, led 67-66 at halftime.

The star forward made 10-of-12 shots in the second quarter alone and connected on 3-of-5 from 3-pointers.

However, after the break, Anthony and the Knicks went cold, as the Wizards took over the contest again to build up another sizable lead of 91-79 in the third quarter.

That run forced New York coach Jeff Hornacek into taking a timeout to cool things off with 2:59 left in the quarter.

Washington outscored the Knicks 34-19 in the third quarter to lead 100-86 going into the final session.

For more information on the teams visit the official Washington Wizards and the New York Knicks websites for more video and photo coverage.

Rose Double-Double Guides Knicks Past Celtics, 117-106

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BOSTON – Derrick Rose scores a season high 30 points and also had 10 rebounds and five assists to lead the New York Knicks to a 117-106 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Complete Box Score

Rose, who stayed away from 3-pointer shooting in this one, shot 13-of-24 from the floor and also had two steals and blocked two shots for New York (19-24), which snapped a two-game losing streak.

“Just playing my game,” said Rose. “Just waiting for coach to call my number, just like tonight — he called my number.”

Willy Hernangomez added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Mindaugas Kuzminskas finished with 17 points and six rebounds, while Justin Holiday and Carmelo Anthony each scored 13 points for the Knicks, who lost the previous two meetings this season on Nov. 11 and on Christmas.

“It was a big win for us,” Anthony said afterward.

“To come in here and kind of put everything to the side in spite of what’s been surrounding the team, and really focus in on playing basketball and winning.”

The win was setup by Knicks’ advantage in the rebound column, finishing the contest with a 57-33 edge.

New York coach Jeff Hornacek added: “These guys are a determined bunch. They’ve had some bad breaks, we’ve had some bad games, but they stay in there together.”

Isaiah Thomas scored a game-high 39 points to lead the Boston Celtics (26-16), who hadn’t lost to a lower-ranked team since the 121-114 home loss to Detroit on Nov. 30.

Jae Crowder ended with 21 points, Jaylen Brown scored 12 off the bench and Amir Johnson chipped in with 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for the Celtics, who had won three straight and seven of the last eight overall entering this game.

“We didn’t have a look most of the night that you felt good about,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.

New York, which played the game without injured starters Kristaps Porzingis and Joakim Noah will entertain the Wizards on Thursday.

Boston host the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.

Thomas Scores 27pts, Leads Celtics Over Knicks 119-114

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NEW YORK, Sporting Alert – Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points and led six players in double-digit scoring and the Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 119-114 at Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day.

Jae Crowder added 16 points and six rebounds, Kelly Olynyk finished with 16 points, while Al Horford ended with seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks for the Celtics, which shot 48.4 percent.

Marcus Smart went 5 of 9 from the floor for 15 points to go along with seven assists and Avery Bradley chipped in with 11 points for Boston (18-13), which led the entire second half.

Carmelo Anthony scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half to lead New York, but missed out at scoring 30 or more points for the fifth time on Christmas Day after struggling in the first half and fourth quarter.

Anthony also pulled down seven rebounds.

The star forward notched 30 plus points in his four previous Christmas Day fixtures – doing so in 2009 at Portland, 2011 at home against Boston, 2012 at Los Angeles Lakers and in 2014 at home against the Washington Wizards.

Derrick Rose had 25 for the Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis adding 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks and Joakim Noah grabbed 12 rebounds in the defeat.

The Celtics led in the entire second half.

It was the second time this season Boston was beating New York, following the 115-87 win on Nov 11.

Derrick Rose Sweet Move For Layup

Kristaps Porzingis Delivers Monster Dunk

HALF TIME

Jae Crowder, Al Horford and Isaiah Thomas all scored 11 points in the first half, with Crowder hitting three 3-pointers to give Celtics a 42-37 lead with 4:38 left in the second quarter.

Derrick Rose was the only New York Knicks player scoring in double-digit in the first half with 12 points.

New York shot 50 percent from the field on 18 of 36 shooting, while Boston went 22 of 49 for 44.9 percent in two quarters.

The Celtics led Knicks 56-48 at halftime.

Cavaliers v Knicks Live Stream On TNT Overtime: Oct. 25

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CLEVELAND, OH, Sporting Alert – Tuesday night’s opener against the New York Knicks is expected to be the first of several tough tests for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the defense of their NBA title.

The season opener at Quicken Loans Arena will be live on TNT and streaming live on TNT Overtime, starting at 7:30pm ET.

CAVALIERS TO START WITH WIN

LeBron James and the Cavs are confident about the team that has been assembled to take a stab at winning back-to-back crowns, and Las Vegas Odds are backing them as 9.5-point favourites to get the season off to a winning start.

The Cavaliers dropped four of their six preseason games, including the last four, as coach Ty Lue used the time to work on different lineups and integrate players into the system he will use this coming season.

New York Knicks, in the meantime, who added more top pieces their roster than any other Eastern Conference team in offseason, went 4-2 during the NBA warmups and they are confident about making the playoffs this campaign.

KNICKS ADDED MAJOR PIECES

The likes of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Brandon Jennings and Courtney Lee will help to take some of the pressure off Carmelo Anthony and many, including NBA analyst and former coach Jeff Van Gundy, believes the Knicks have a real chance to 50+ games this season.

Van Gundy, however, noted that all of this will depend on the fitness and health of new point guard Rose, who has been plagued by injuries in past few season.

Meanwhile, after averaging 35.6 minutes during the 2015-16 regular season, Lue said the main thing is to cut down the amount of minute James plays this coming season.

“He understands that we want to keep his minutes down, and when there’re games where it makes sense to take off, we’re going to take those games off,” Lue told reporters.

“We’re being smart about the situation. We have one goal in mind, and that’s winning a championship.”

NOTE: The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls, who will feature LeBron James’ very close friend, Dwayne Wade, are expected to battle, alongside the Indiana Pacers, for the Eastern Conference Central Division title.

LeBron James Guides Cavaliers Past Bulls, 106-95

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Cleveland, OH, Sporting Alert – LeBron James flirted with a triple-double, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat a depleted Chicago Bulls side 106-95 in the NBA on Thursday night.

James collected 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting to go with nine rebounds and nine assists for Cleveland, which shot 46.2 percent from the floor.

Kyrie Irving finished with 19 points and four assists, and Tristan Thompson grabbed a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win for the hosts at Quicken Loans Arena

Kevin Love had 15 points and 15 rebounds — his 24th double-double of the season, as four of the five Cavaliers starters scored in double figures.

Timofey Mozgov added 11 points and seven rebounds for Cleveland (39-14), which led by as many as 19 points.

The Eastern Conference leaders have now won four straight and nine of the last 11 games overall.

With the win, Tyronn Lue improved to 9-3 since taking over as the head coach of Cleveland in January.

Derrick Rose paced the Bulls with 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting to go with seven boards, with Pau Gasol adding 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the defeat.

Bobby Portis ended with 13 points and 10 boards off the bench for Chicago (27-26) which dropped its fifth in a row, seventh in the last eight contests and its 14th in the past 19 games.

CAVALIERS PULL AWAY IN THE THIRD – Download Game Box Score (PDF)

After dominating for much of the first half, Cleveland got going again early in the second — racing off to a 17-6 run inside the opening minutes following the interval, to build a 65-48 lead with 7:52 left in the third quarter.

The Cavs went on to take a 78-64 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the midst of that run, J.R. Smith and Taj Gibson had to be separated by the match officials after some pushing and shoving by both players.

They both received a technical foul and the battle continued.

The Chicago Bulls were without leading scorer Jimmy Butler, who remains on the sideline with a left knee strain.

FIRST HALF REPORT – Download Game Box Score (PDF)

Rose scored a first half-high 18 points for the Chicago Bulls in the opening 24 minutes.

The Chicago All-Star point guard went 7-of-12 on shooting from the floor, but the Bulls only had six assists as a team in the entire first half and shot 38 percent.

James and Thompson combined for 22 for Cleveland, which helped to give the Cavaliers a 48-42 lead over the Bulls at Halftime.

Thompson scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting while James had 10 points and five assists in the first half.

Love grabbed 11 first half rebounds, including nine on the defensive end, while the Cavalier shot 42 percent in the first half.

Game Information: Download Game Box Score (PDF)

 

Thursday, February 18, 2016; Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #45 Brian Forte, #73 Tre Maddox

NBA Scores, Recaps and Box Scores On Oct. 27

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CHICAGO, Sporting Alert – The NBA scores, recaps and box scores from the games that took place on the regular season opening night on Tuesday. Wins for Bulls and Warriors.

WARRIORS 111, PELICANS 95

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry picked up from where he left off last season after he scored 40 points to pilot defending NBA champions Golden State Warriors to a 111-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.

Curry, the reigning NBA MVP, shot 14 of 26 from the field, went 7 of 7 from the free throw line, while collecting seven assists, six rebounds and two steals in a very productive season opener.

The sharp-shooter started strongly, knocking seven of his first nine shots and four 3-pointers to score 24 points in the first-quarter.

Festus Ezeli scored 13 points, Andrew Bogut finished with 12 points, five assists and five rebounds and Draymond Green ended with 10 points, eight boards for the Warriors.

Interim Luke Walton, who had been in charge since the preseason, coached Golden State in the regular season opener as head coach Steve Kerr continues to recover from back surgery.

Kerr attended the game.

For the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis scored 18 points, with 10 coming from free throws after going 4 of 20 from the floor in the defeat.

The All-Star forward also added six rebounds and three blocks.

Ish Smith scored 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench in the defeat for New Orleans.

BULLS 97, CAVALIERS 95

CHICAGO — Nikola Mirotic scored 19 points in a starting role and the Chicago Bulls opened the NBA regular season on a winning note, following a battling 97-95 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Mirotic, who got the starting nod over Joakim Noah, was 6 of 11 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from three-pointers, also pulled down nine rebounds for the Bulls.

Guard Derrick Rose added 18 points and five assists and played 32 minutes, while Jimmy Butler finished with 17 points.

Pau Gasol only had two points and shot 1 of 7 from the floor, but had six blocks, including a possible tying layup by LeBron James in the final seconds of the game in front of President Barack Obama.

James scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Mo Williams added 19 points and seven assists and Kevins Love collected 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks for the Cavs.

NBA Scores On Tuesday, October 27

WARRIORS 111, PELICANS 95 – Box Score
BULLS 97, CAVALIERS 95 – Box Score
PISTONS 106, HAWKS 94 – Box Score

Bulls-Cavs; Warriors-Pelicans Live On TNT Overtime

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SPORTING ALERT – LeBron James has declared himself fit for the start of the 2015-16 NBA season with the Cleveland Cavaliers scheduled to open at the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday’s opening night.

The game will also broadcast live on the TNT Network and streaming live on TNT Overtime, starting at 7:00 PM CT.

James sat out the Cavaliers’ last four preseason games with a lower back injury, but after receiving an anti-inflammatory injection to reduce the pain, the four-time MVP took part in full practice two days in a row and showed no signs of the problem.

He says he is feeling much better now and is looking forward to finally getting the show on the road in the visit to the United Center.

“I feel good,” James said after his workout session on Monday in Cleveland. “I’m ready to go. I’ll be active tomorrow.”

Cleveland will also have Kevin Love back to start the season after the star forward missed most of the playoffs with a dislocated left shoulder he suffered in the first round against the Boston Celtics.

Love returned to action late, but played back-to-back games to end the Cavs’ warmups.

“I did everything leading up to be ready for this,” he revealed. “My body feels good and now is just the time to get to work for the real thing.”

He is expecting a tough game on the road, but is backing the team to be ready.

“We’ll be on the road. It will be us, our traveling staff, our traveling team against those 20,000 fans and the Bulls, so it’s going to be a tough environment,” he said.

“When that ball goes in the air, I think we’ll be ready.”

Still out, though, is starting point guard Kyrie Irving, as he continues to recover from the surgery he underwent on a broken kneecap.

Fellow guard Iman Shumpert is also out injured with his right wrist.

Meanwhile, Derrick Rose will play for the Chicago Bulls and is not expected to be on restricted minutes.

The point guard was doubtful for the contest because he was still recovering from a left orbital fracture, but the Bulls is reporting that he will start the season opener.

Rose said he is ready to play, despite admitting that he is still having blurred vision.

“I was playing with one eye, and you can’t tell that I was playing with one eye,” he said. “In any profession, that’s just like you all with having just one arm or one hand, something like that, and typing.

“If you’re able to do it, you’re able to do it. If not, you’ve got to sit down.”

Defending champions Golden State Warriors will also get the defense of their NBA title underway on Tuesday night.

Stephen Curry and reigning champs will entertain the New Orleans Pelicans, a game that will stream live also on TNT Overtime and broadcast on the TNT Network, starting at 9:30 CT.

Tipping-off as well on Tuesday are the Atlanta Hawks against the Detroit Pistons at 7:00.

Tuesday, October 27
Live ESPN NBA Scoreboard, Box Scores

Detroit Atlanta 7:00 PM FSDT
Cleveland Chicago 7:00 PM TNT; TNT OVERTIME
New Orleans Golden State 9:30 PM TNT; TNT OVERTIME

Chicago Bulls v Cleveland Cavaliers Game 6 Match Report

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[wptab name=’Recap’]

Matthew Dellavedova,
Matthew Dellavedova leads the way for the Cavs in Games 6 against Bulls

CHICAGO (Sporting Alert) — Matthew Dellavedova scored a team high 19 points off the bench and the Cavaliers eliminated Chicago from the playoffs with a 94-73 win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals on Thursday night. Box Score – More Highlights

Dellavedova stepped in for Cleveland for the injured Kyrie Irving, who aggravated his injured knee and left the game early to be the best player on the floor for the travelers.

“We are blessed to have a guy like that,” LeBron James said about Dellavedova. “I am so happy for him and I am so proud of him for stepping up with Kyrie injured.”

James, who was 7-of-23 from the field, finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.

He is heading to his 5th successive conference final.

Cleveland is reaching its first Eastern Conference final since 2009.

It was also the fourth time in six-years James’ teams were eliminating the Bulls in the playoffs.

Tristan Thompson had 13 points and 17 rebounds and Iman Shumpert added 13 points and seven boards in the win for the Cavs.

Jimmy Butler paced the Bulls with 20 points, while Derrick Rose added 14 points and six assists in the defeat.

Star forward Pau Gasol made a return for Chicago after sitting out two games, but he was 3-of-8 from the floor for eight points in 24 minutes.

The Cavs led 58-44 at half time and held the Bulls to just 13 points in the fourth quarter. Chicago went 1-of-10 from three-point range in the first half.

Both teams struggled to get going to start the second half, with the Cavs starting with 0-for-9 from the floor before finally ending their drought with 6:12 left in the third.

After that, the visitors then went on a 7-0 run — with James hitting back-to-back fade-away jumpers from the corner and the lead increased quickly to 19 points.

At one point, the Bulls, who had scored eight-points in 12:35, went 1-for-13 to the start the 3rd quarter.

They failed to take advantage of James being in foul trouble and Kyrie Irving sitting on the bench with a knee problem.

The hosts were made to pay as Cleveland took charge.

The Cavaliers started the fourth quarter lively, with Dellavedova scoring ten fast buckets, to help push the lead to 27 points.[/wptab]

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Chicago Bulls v Cleveland Cavaliers
Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers: Game 6 Setup

CHICAGO (Sporting Alert) — The Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, looking to close of their Eastern Conference semi-finals at United Center.

The Cavs take a 3-2 lead into Game 6 after securing a 106-101 positive result in Game 5 Tuesday night, behind LeBron James’ dominating performance of 38 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks.

Kyrie Irving was also in good touch after shaking off his discomfort from a strained right foot to add 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor.

The star point guard said after the team’s session on Thursday that he was feeling good and is ready to close out the series tonight.

He also admitted earlier that he wasn’t 100-percent fit, but is “really confident” in getting the job done.

“I’m not 100 percent, but I’m going to go out there and play,” Irving said.

“Just being in my spot, being able to knock shots down when I’m open. Obviously, I’m still really confident in myself, but I just want to go out there and play for my brothers.

“That’s all that matters at this point.”

After watching his team going down in Game 5, Bulls forward Pau Gasol plans to play Thursday night, Yahoo!Sports reports.

Gasol missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, but is ready to block the pain to help his team come back in the series.

The 13-year veteran, who admits that he is not 100-percent, took part in a light workout on Wednesday and said he will attempt to play some part in the coming fixture, regardless of his status.

“I don’t know, but whatever percentage I will be, that’s what I’ll give,” Gasol said.

Gasol is averaging 15.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in the postseason this term.

Meanwhile, in Tuesday night’s defeat, Jimmy Butler, who is averaging 23.2 points per game and is leading Chicago in scoring in this postseason, scored 29 points on 50-percent shooting from the floor, while pulling down nine rebounds.

Mike Dunleavy added 19 points and Derrick Rose finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the defeat.

Joakim Noah is averaging 10.2 rebounds against the Cavs in five games and the Bulls will be hoping the star center can continue to lead the way in that area come Thursday night.

Cavs coach David Blatt says the team will be ready for Game 6

He said: “Like everything else this season, whatever comes, we’ll be up for the task.”

[/wptab]

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Clutch James Wins It For Cavs In Game 4: Video

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[wptab name=’Recap’]

NBA playoffs
LeBron James hits winner for Cavs in Game 4

CHICAGO (Sporting Alert) — LeBron James hit a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to an exciting 86-84 victory over the Chicago Bulls to tie their series 2-2 on Sunday.

With the scores locked at 84-84 and 1.5 seconds remaining in the game, James, who scored 25 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, connected on the last shot of the game to seal the win for the Cavs, who went just 5-of-25 from three-point range.

“(I told Matthew Dellavedova) give me the ball and I’m gonna win this game for us,” James said.

“I’ve made big shots before in the postseason.

“…We were able to regain home court with the shot. For me, I just don’t like letting my teammates down. I did that a few times late, with two charge calls.”

Timofey Mozgov finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and J.R. Smith hammered down three vital 3-pointers to finish with 13 points off the bench.

Tristan Thompson and Kyrie Irving each scored 12 points with the former also grabbing seven boards, while the latter was only 2-of-10 from the floor.

Derrick Rose paced Chicago with a game-high 31 points, while Jimmy Butler added 19 points for the Bulls, who were without power forward Pau Gasol because of a hamstring strain.

Rose and Butler were the other two players to score in double-digit for Chicago on Sunday.

————–Reporting by C. Hancock, SportingAlert Writer   First Half Report

 

 

It’s halftime in Game 4 between the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers and hosts are leading 49-45 at the United Center.

LeBron James so far has 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Tristan Thompson and Kyrie Irving each have 10 points. Derrick Rose is leading the Bulls with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Jimmy Butler has 11 points.

——-END

The Chicago Bulls are leading the Cleveland Cavaliers 28-26 at the end of the first quarter in Game 4.

Follow Live GameCast and Box Score on ESPN | Live on ABC/WatchESPN

 

Chicago is shooting 52.2-percent from the field on 12-23 attempts, with Derrick Rose leading the way with nine points first quarter points. They are also 2-of-4 from three pointers.

LeBron James has nine points, four rebounds and three assists for the Cavs, who are shooting 52.4 percent from the floor, but struggled to get stops.

Cavaliers coach David Blatt was happy with the offense of his team, but he wasn’t trilled about the defending.

“We’ve got to defend at a higher level,” Blatt told ABC reporter. “A 28 point quarter is not good enough.

“We have to defend at a higher level.”
[/wptab]

[wptab name=’Preview’]

CHICAGO (Sporting Alert) — The Chicago Bulls are hoping to take Game 3 momentum into Sunday’s Game 4 Eastern Conference semis series against the Cleveland Cavaliers at United Center.

Follow Live GameCast and Box Score on ESPN | Live on ABC/WatchESPN

NBA Playoffs
Derrick Rose and Bulls are taking a 2-1 leading into the series against the Cavs

Derrick Rose hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Bulls a 2-1 victory in the third game of the series on Friday night and the hosts will now try to extend their lead in the battle.

Rose scored 30 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in Game 3 win.

Chicago will have to go to work without its star power forward Pau Gasol, who misses the game with a strained hamstring.

Gasol, who was averaging 15.1 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game and shooting 49.5 percent from the field this postseason, injured his left hamstring in Game 3, which the Bulls won 99-96 and the team confirmed that he hasn’t recovered to feature.

“He’s still sore,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.

This means Taj Gibson, who average 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in this postseason, has been selected to take the place of Gasol in the starting lineup.
It will be the first time the current Bulls starting five of Rose, Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Gibson and Joakim Noah will start together.
The Cavs, in the meantime, will keep Iman Shumpert as a starter with J.R. Smith starting on the bench again.

Chicago will be trying to take a 3-1 lead in the series after Game 4, which will be live on ABC at 2:30 p.m. CT.

The Bulls are 18-3 all-time when they are leading a best-of-7 series 2-1.

[/wptab]

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Video: Rose Banks Home Buzzer-Beating 3; Bulls Beat Cavs

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CHICAGO (Sporting Alert) — Derrick Rose and the Bulls take on LeBron James and the Cavaliers live on ESPN on Friday night.

Chicago and Cleveland were locked at 1-1 in the series after two games in Ohio, and both played confidently in looking to take the lead in the seven-game battle. Game time is at 7 p.m. CT and the WatchESPN application will also provide live broadcast, along with live GameCast, Box Score and our on page updates. Complete Play-by-Play

—————————————————–LIVE UPDATES———————————————-

LeBron James missed his first 3-point attempt of the night and had missed 11 straight from downtown dating to Game 4 against the Celtic before getting a triple through the net. James is 1-for-5 from the field overall tonight. Watch live on ESPN/WatchESPN

Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose hits game winner for Bulls against Cavs

Rose enters tonight’s showdown with the Cavs with some interesting stats.

According to ESPN Stats, the Bulls starting point guard is averaging 14.0 points per game on a single day rest between games — compare to his 24.3 points per game with multi days of resting.

Rose is shooting 30-percent from the field on one day of rest, far away from his 48.0-percent with more days to recover. He is also shooting 27-percent from three-point range on limited resting. He shoots 48.0-percent on longer time to prepare for the next battle.

Rose will now be looking to break his trend of low stats on a single day of rest when he leads the hosts into the United Center for Game 3 with the Cavs.

KING JAMES WILL FEEL AT HOME

Cleveland’s James, who scored 33 points in a dominant outing in Game 2 on Wednesday night, is averaging 28.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, and 7.3 apg in 7 career playoff games at Chicago and he will try for his sixth postseason victory inside the arena.

ESPN Stats, reports that the four-time MVP comes into Friday’s game ranked No. 6 in postseason history with 1,059 assists and needs just three more helpers to move pass Steve Nash and four to overtake Larry Bird on the all-time list.

It will be tough to bet against James not reaching either of those milestones, as he is averaging 6.7 assists per game in the playoffs this season from six games.

LeBron Steers Cavs Past Bulls, 106-91 In Game 2

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[wptab name=’Recap’]

GAME RECAP
Final: Cavs 106, Bulls 91

 

May 06, 2015 — LeBron James scored 33 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals and the Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls, 106-91 to level their Eastern Conference semis series at 1-1.

James, who scored 22 of his total points in an aggressive first half, shot 13-of-29 from the floor, while the Cavs were +31 with him on the court.

The Cavaliers, who are without Kevin Love for the rest of the playoffs, were again without starting J.R. Smith, who was serving the second of his two game suspension.

“We’re a little banged up, we’re short-handed, so I have to be aggressive,” said James, who brought back his headband for Game 2.

“Even more aggressive than my usual self, and I was happy I was able to make a couple of plays to help our team win tonight.”

Kyrie Irving contributed 21 points, James Jones hit 5-for-9 from three-point range for 17 points, while Iman Shumpert added 15 and connected on 4-for-7 from behind the arc.

Jimmy Butler led the way for the Bulls with 18 points, while Derrick Rose finished with 14 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in the defeat.

The star point guard struggled from the field though, after going 6-for-20 in field goal attempts.

Pau Gasol chipped in with 11 points for Chicago, which had won Game 1 of the series on Monday night and was looking to take a 2-0 lead back home to host their two games.

Cleveland, which raced off to a 20-5 lead in the first quarter and then extended the gap to 33-14, led 38-18 at half time, as the Bulls had no answer in the opening minutes of the contest.

The home side rushed out to a 48-27 lead on a Matthew Dellavedova three-pointer with 8:33 on the clock, before going up by 21 points again five-minutes later, at 60-39. Dellavedova finished the game with nine points and nine assists.

Chicago went on a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 11 points, but James came alive again to build back the lead and pilot his team to the vital victory.

“They smashed us,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after his team struggled to find an answer for the hosts.

Rose admitted that James coming out and setting the tone early made it easier for his teammates follow.

“That’s what a leader of the team is supposed to do,” Rose said. “Everybody on the team followed right behind him.”

It was another slow night for Joakim Noah, who after finishing Game 1 without scoring, could only manage four in Game 2 in 30-minutes. He did contributed seven rebounds and four assists for the Bulls in the defeat.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – END – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

CAVS LEAD BULLS, 64-45 AT HALF TIME

CLEVELAND (Sporting Alert) — Cleveland Cavaliers took a step closer to even their Eastern Conference series with the Chicago Bulls by dominating the first half of Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Live Coverage of Game 2 is Streaming on TNT Overtime For Online Viewers. The Cavs, who scored 38 points in the first quarter, lead the Bulls 64-45 at half time, as they seek to even the series at 1-1, following Game 1 defeat on Monday night.

LeBron James has so far scored 22 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field, while pulling down five rebounds and three assists in the first 24 minutes.

Iman Shumpert, is supporting well with 13 points. He has so far knock down 4-for-5 from three-point range, plus pulling down six rebounds and six steals.

Kyrie Irving has 11 points for Cleveland.

Jimmy Butler leads the Bulls with 11 points, while Derrick Rose has seven points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Cavaliers go into the interval shooting 60.0-percent from behind the arc on 9-for-15.

 

  shooting 49% FG, 60% (9-15) 3pt FG; CHI, 41% FG, 2nd chance pts: CLE, 11, CHI 6. Butler leads CHI w/11pts; D. Rose, 3-12 FG, 7pts.  

The Cleveland Cavaliers are dominating the first half with LeBron James and Iman Shumpert already both in double figures.

Meanwhile, according to ESPN sources, Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler will win this year’s Most Improved Player, after improving his scoring from 13.1 points per game to 20.0 points per game this season. The All-Star guard is also shooting 46.2 percent from the field this season.

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CLEVELAND (Sporting Alert) — The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to bounce back from Monday night’s defeat when they take on the Chicago Bulls in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semi-final on Wednesday.

Live Coverage of Game 2 is Streaming on TNT Overtime For Online Viewers.

The Bulls took Game 1 on the road, 99-92, after jumping out to the lead and never trailed in the contest.

Derrick Rose scored 25 points and Jimmy Butler added 20 for Chicago, which shot 50.0 percent from the floor and an impressive 55.6 percent from the 3-point range.

Rose was a slight concern for this game because of a shoulder problem, but the former MVP is good to go as he tries to lead the Bulls to a 2-0 lead in the series.

Meanwhile, after failing to keep tabs on the Bulls shooters in Game 1, Cavaliers coach David Blatt will place Tristan Thompson in his team starting lineup for Game 2.

He will start in place of Mike Miller, who was inserted in the starting team for the injured Kevin Love, but struggled to get going.

“I’m always going to be ready,” Thompson said ahead of the battle. “My job is pretty simple, just come out and play hard and be an energy guy.”

All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who scored 30 points in the defeat in Game 1 welcomes the move, as it will allow LeBron James to move back to his regular small forward position.

“Well, we get our 3 man back,” Irving said. “You know, it was great seeing Bron at the 4, but at times he’s getting the ball — just like our bigs — and he’s giving it right to me.

“Our dynamic throughout the entire year and what we’ve created is we play off one another and our bigs get the rebound and our bigs, me and Bron are sprinting dang near at half court ready to get our offense started.”

He added: “So we have our 3 man back and he’ll be out on the perimeter. And all that energy battling Joakim Noah and all those other bigs can be afforded on Mike Dunleavy playing the 3 and also on the offensive end.”

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Bulls 99 Beat Cavaliers 92: Game 1 Box Score Report

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Chicago Bulls
Kyrie Irving (L) and Derrick Rose battle. Photo Zimbio

CLEVELAND (Sporting Alert) — LeBron James flirted with a triple-double, but his efforts were not enough to prevent Cleveland from losing for the first-time in these playoffs.

The Chicago Bulls led from wire-to-wire to beat the Cavaliers 99-92 at Quicken Loans Arena, here in Cleveland on Monday to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Derrick Rose scored 25 points, five assists and five rebounds to lead the way for the Bulls, which shot 55.6 percents on 10-for-18 from three-point range.

The visitors also went 50.0 percent from the floor on 40-for-80 shooting, as Pau Gasol chipped in with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks and Jimmy Butler added 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

“We did a great job of coming out and setting the tone on both ends of the floor,” Gasol said. “We came in with the right mindset and attitude.”

Chicago Bulls had never beaten James in the playoffs, but that impressive run has finally come to an end, which pleases Rose.

“I can’t think about how many times (LeBron) beat us in the past,” Rose said. “It’s over. We’re in the present now.”

Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with a game-high 30 points on 10-for-23 shooting to go along with his six assists.

James finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists for the Cavaliers on his way to surpassing former Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen for seventh-place on the all-time playoff list for assists, Dave McMenamin, @mcten, reports. He now has 1,054 assists and gets past Pippen (1,048).

The star forward, though, thinks everyone must play better.

“We all just have to play better,” James said. “I wasn’t that good tonight.”

He added: “For one, we’ll just focus on the next game. We’ll focus on (Tuesday) first. We’re going to watch the film and see ways we can get better — things that we’ve got to do to be better and try win that game, Game 2.

“That’s our only concern. It’s not worrying about seven games. If you worry about seven games, you might not even get there. You worry about Game 2 and be much better than we were tonight.”

Despite securing the road win and taking the advantage in the seven-game series, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau also expects more from his team.

“We know that we’re going to have to play a lot better than we did today,” he said.

NBA playoffs
Derrick Rose in action for the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 against the Cavs

Mike Dunleavy, who started the game red-hot after knocking 4-for-4 from the field and going 3-for-3 from behind the arc, ended with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Bulls in the win.

All-Star center Joakim Noah struggled in this game after he went 0-for-4 from the field and was held scoreless in 29 minutes of action. He did, however, contributed nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks for his team and felt that he did his job limiting the Cavaliers.

“I think I guarded every guy they brought into the game,” he said.

Iman Shumpert scored 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting for the Cavs, who was playing with Kevin Love and J.R. Smith in the home defeat. Love is out for the rest of the postseason after her underwent shoulder surgery, while Smith is suspended for the first two games of this series.

The two players were missed, but Cleveland coach David Blatt wasn’t making any excuses, although hinting that he could make changes for the second game.

“No excuses,” Blatt said.

He added: “Every game and every day teaches you something. Once you walk into the fire, you’ll come out either hurt badly or a lot smarter.

“Hopefully we’re a lot smarter.”

 

Both teams made runs of their own with the Cavs evening up the game at 51-51 early in the third quarter, while pulling within four points, at 94-90, in the final minute before the Bulls, through Butler, grabbed the basket that sealed the game.

The Bulls outrebounded the Cavalier 51-45 and outassisted the hosts 23-17.

Game 2 of this series is again here in Cleveland on Wednesday night.

 

BOX SCORE REPORT AND STATS.

CHICAGO BULLS 99

Dunleavy 5-6 1-2 14, Gasol 10-16 1-1 21, Noah 0-4 0-2 0, Rose 11-26 0-0 25, Butler 7-16 4-6 20, Gibson 3-5 2-4 8, Hinrich 2-3 1-1 6, Brooks 2-4 0-0 5, Mirotic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-80 9-16 99.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 92

James 9-22 1-2 19, Miller 1-2 0-0 3, Mozgov 3-8 3-4 9, Irving 10-23 9-9 30, Shumpert 8-17 2-2 22, Thompson 1-2 2-2 4, Marion 0-0 0-0 0, Dellavedova 2-5 0-0 5, Jones 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-81 17-19 92.

STATS BREAKDOWN

3-Pointer-Chicago 10-18 (Dunleavy 3-4, Rose 3-6, Butler 2-6, Hinrich 1-1, Brooks 1-1), Cleveland 7-26 (Shumpert 4-10, Miller 1-2, Dellavedova 1-4, Irving 1-5, Jones 0-2, James 0-3).

Rebounds-Chicago 51 (Gasol 10), Cleveland 45 (James 15). Assists-Chicago 23 (Butler 6), Cleveland 17 (James 9). Total Team Fouls-Chicago 15, Cleveland 16. Turnovers-Chicago 10 (Noah 4), Cleveland 8 (James 6).