Balanced Bulls topple Cavs
CHICAGO -- Jimmy Butler scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade had 24 and Taj Gibson finished with 23 as the Chicago Bulls used a balanced scoring attack to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-105 on Friday night at the United Center.
Gibson hit on 10 of his 13 field goal attempts for the Bulls (11-7), whose starters all reached double figures. Chicago also got a triple double from Rajon Rondo, who had 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. Center Robin Lopez rounded out the strong effort from Chicago's starters with 10 points.
LeBron James scored a game-high 27 points for the Cavaliers (13-5), who lost their third straight game. Kyrie Irving scored 20 points to go along with 15 from Kevin Love for Cleveland.
Wade beat James, his former teammate with the Miami Heat on a driving layup to extend Chicago's lead to 107-101 with 2:30 remaining after the Cavaliers had gotten to within three. Wade grabbed an offensive rebound of a Nikola Mirotic 3-point attempt to seemingly put the game out of reach.
But Irving scored on back-to-back baskets in the final 20 seconds to draw the Cavaliers to within 109-105 before Butler hit a pair of free throws with 6.9 seconds remaining to cap the win. Butler then stole the ensuing inbounds pass and ran out the clock to preserve Chicago's second straight victory.
The Bulls trailed 60-59 at halftime and struggled from 3-point range, where Chicago hit on only 3-of-18 attempts. But Chicago, paced by Gibson inside, poured in 78 points in the paint.
NOTES: Cavaliers G/F Mike Dunleavy missed his second straight game with a concussion after being hit in the head on Tuesday night. Coach Tyronn Lue said he doesn't know if Dunleavy will play in Cleveland's upcoming games at Toronto and New York. ... F LeBron James arrived at the United Center wearing a full Chicago Cubs uniform as a payoff for a World Series bet he lost to Bulls G and former teammate Dwyane Wade. ... Wade will not travel with the Bulls to Dallas for Saturday's game against the Mavericks, which will allow the veteran guard to rest with the Bulls playing four games in five days. ... F Doug McDermott continues to deal with concussion symptoms. Coach Fred Hoiberg said McDermott, who has not played since Nov. 12, is waiting to be cleared to take contact and will need time for conditioning before he returns to the lineup.