Cavaliers 114, Bulls 108 (OT)
LeBron James scored eight of his 36 points in overtime as visiting Cleveland bounced back by holding off Chicago.
James scored on the opening possession of the extra period and the Cavaliers led the rest of the way to recover from a season-opening loss at home to New York on Thursday. Kyrie Irving added 23 points and Kevin Love picked up his second double-double in as many games with his new team with 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Kirk Hinrich scored eight of his 20 points in a 55-second span late in the fourth quarter and Derrick Rose added 20 points before leaving late with an ankle injury for the Bulls. Pau Gasol collected 15 points and nine boards while Mike Dunleavy put up 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as Chicago dropped its home opener.
Love’s free throws put the Cavaliers up 91-90, but Cleveland turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions and Hinrich made the most of the extra chances with a pair of 3-pointers to give the Bulls a 96-91 cushion with 1:15 left in regulation. lOve dunked, James hit two free throws and Irving converted a three-point play to knot it at 98 with 27.9 seconds remaining, and both teams missed chances in the final seconds to send it to overtime.
James put up 19 points and the Cavaliers posted a 27-15 advantage on the glass in the first half to take a 58-52 lead into the break. Love scored twice in a 7-1 run ending the third quarter that stretched the advantage to 78-69, but Aaron Brooks hit a pair of 3-pointers and Tony Snell knocked down another during a 15-4 run opening the final period that left Chicago on top 84-82 with 6:43 to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cleveland F Tristan Thompson had 13 rebounds (12 offensive) to go along with 16 points off the bench. … Bulls F Taj Gibson left the game with a left ankle injury early in the fourth quarter but returned five minutes later and finished with 10 points. … Rose, who originally rolled his left ankle in the first quarter when he landing on Irving’s foot, exited in the fourth quarter and did not return.