Bulls can't catch James, Cavs
CLEVELAND - The Bulls took turns being a punching bag and fighting their way out of a corner on Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Ultimately, they couldn't overcome a 38-point performance by LeBron James and lost Game 5 to the Cavs 106-101. The Bulls now trail this second-round series 3-2 with Game 6 on Thursday at the United Center.
All night, the Bulls were either red hot or ice cold. After starting fast, they fell way behind and reeled in the Cavs twice. Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 29 points, while Mike Dunleavy scored 19 and Derrick Rose had 16.
Taj Gibson was ejected early in the fourth quarter for kicking at Cleveland guard Matthew Dellevadova. While Aaron Brooks scored on a driving lay in, Dellavedova was trying to box out Gibson and both players fell to the ground.
As Gibson got off the floor, Dellavedova squeezed his legs together and Gibson sort of shook his leg free. In the process, though, Gibson pushed Dellavedova's leg, which sent every player on the floor into a mosh pit. The only penalty was a flagrant foul and ejection for Gibson.
Shortly after Gibson went to the locker room, the Cavs stretched their lead to 92-75 with 8:44 remaining.
The Bulls seemed completely finished, but suddenly came to life from long range. A bank shot by Joakim Noah brought the visitors within 97-93 with 4:11 left.
The Cavs finally ended an 11-0 Bulls run when James found Tristan Thompson for a dunk. But a couple of 3-pointers by Butler closed the gap to 101-99 with 1:18 remaining.
The Bulls got the ball back trailing by 2, but Rose had a fast-break attempt blocked by James and then Butler missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 44 seconds on the clock.
The Bulls forced James to miss a fallaway jumper, but couldn't secure the rebound after it was tipped three times. Kyrie Irving then hit 2 free throws to make it a 4-point game with 16.4 seconds left.
The Bulls got off to fast starts in both halves, but faded badly both times. They started the contest with an 8-0 lead and went up by 10 on three occasions in the first quarter.
By the time the opening quarter was over, Cleveland held a 25-24 lead, then the second quarter was a disaster for the Bulls. They shot 4-for-22 from the field and were fortunate to still be within 54-44 at halftime.
The Bulls changed the momentum again, starting the third quarter with an 18-9 run and cutting the deficit to 63-62 on Jimmy Butler's 3-pointer with 4:10 left. The Bulls had a chance to take the lead, but Rose missed a runner in the lane and the Cavs finished the quarter with a flurry. It took a half-court buzzer-beater by Nikola Mirotic to keep the Bulls within 77-68 heading into the fourth.
For the second-straight game, the Bulls played without center Pau Gasol because of a left hamstring strain. Before the game, he was hopeful he'll be able to play in Thursday's Game 6 at the United Center.
• Check back for more on this game from Mike McGraw.