Bulls lose big in Game 2 at Cleveland
CLEVELAND - The Bulls have been through this before. After winning Game 1 on the road, they knew they'd be facing the clash of the Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Would they be ready, was the question. The answer turned out to be an emphatic no. With their 1-0 series lead, the Bulls eased up and laid down the welcome mat, falling behind by 22 points in the first quarter.
The Bulls made a slight push in the third quarter, but never got within single digits and lost 106-91 in Game 2 at Quicken Loans Arena.
Heading home with the series 1-1, the pressure will be on the Bulls to win twice at the United Center this weekend. The Cavs will get shooting guard J.R. Smith back from a two-game suspension for Friday's Game 3.
Cleveland didn't need an extra 3-point shooter in this one. The Cavs drained 9 of 15 attempts from long range while building the first half lead.
James Jones (5-for-9) and Iman Shumpert (4-for-7), who are normally not big scorers, did most of the damage from 3-point land. LeBron James was more aggressive offensively, scoring 22 of his 33 points in the first half. Kyrie Irving added 21 points for the Cavs.
More than anything, Cleveland brought more effort than the Bulls. They were battling for offensive rebounds, chasing down loose balls, deflecting passes. The Cavs won the rebound advantage 45-37.
The Cavaliers' lead peaked at 72-47 at the 8:56 mark of the third quarter when Irving hit a short jumper. That's when the Bulls showed a bit of life, using a 14-0 run to close the margin to 11 points. The Bulls even had a chance to get within single digits, but Pau Gasol missed a hook in the lane.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 18 points. Derrick Rose had 14 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. The Bulls were just 7 of 22 from 3-point range.
There wasn't a big difference in free-throw attempts in Game 2, but the Bulls have a couple of issues there. Joakim Noah missed 2 free throws early in the game and is now 1-for-14 from the line during the playoffs.
Through two games, Rose has yet to attempt a single free throw, while Irving is 19-for-21.
• Check back for more on this game from Mike McGraw.