TNT streak hits 20 as Bulls rally past Cavs
This TNT win streak is one powerful force.
The Bulls made it 20 straight wins in home games televised by TNT on Thursday against Cleveland. More specifically, Nikola Mirotic was dynamite for a second-straight game and led the Bulls to a 99-93 victory.
The Bulls (36-39) trailed by 11 early in the third quarter, but turned the tables completely and never trailed in the fourth. Mirotic matched his season-high of 28 points for the second straight game and Jimmy Butler added 25 points despite getting scratched in the eye just before halftime.
The storyline right now is Mirotic playing as well as he has in his three NBA seasons. Over the last four games, he's hit 20 of 31 shots from 3-point range. As a team, the Bulls made at least 10 3-pointers for the fifth straight contests.
"I feel it's my time now," Mirotic said in the locker room. "It's never (too) late to change things. Now it's a very important moment for the team. To be there on the court feeling important, it's great. I just want to be there and play hard and help my team make that push for the playoffs."
Mirotic has been on fire since sitting out three games from Mar. 8-12.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of the kid," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He didn't just walk away and put his head down and mope. He was the first guy in the gym a couple days after he was out of the lineup, working on his shot, working on his balance and it's paying off for him in a big way."
After the victory, the Bulls are in ninth place, 1 game behind both Indiana and Miami with seven games left to play. The Bulls haven't lost a home game televised by TNT since Feb. 21, 2013. The culprits on that night were LeBron James, plus Dwyane Wade, and the Miami Heat
The Bulls led 95-86 with 2:42 left after Butler split a pair of free throws. Things got a little tight the Cavs got within 5, Robin Lopez was called for an offensive foul on an apparent basket, then a James 3-pointer that could have cut it to 2 rimmed out.
James finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. The Cavs (47-27) didn't get much from their bench or Kevin Love, who fouled out with 8 points, The Bulls swept all four games against Cleveland this season and are 7-1 against the defending champs since Hoiberg became head coach.
The Cavs' problem recently has been defense. During the month of March, they've been dead last in the league in defensive rating of 114.5. That stat measures the number of points allowed per 100 possession. Cleveland was below even the Los Angeles Lakers, perhaps the league's most determined tankers.
Defense seemed to come naturally for the Cavaliers in the first half, as the Bulls tossed a slew of careless passes and scored just 41 points on 34-percent shooting. When Kevin Love opened the third quarter with a reverse lay in, Cleveland had its largest lead at 52-41.
The Bulls sprung to life a few minutes later. Rajon Rondo finished a lane drive to cap an 11-0 run and the Bulls suddenly led 56-55. Before the third quarter ended, the Bulls added a 15-2 run, which included a 2 3-pointers each by Mirotic and Denzel Valentine.
The Bulls outscored the Cavs 37-21 in the third quarter, then increased the lead to 88-78 with 6:48 left in the fourth after Butler hit a 3, then picked off a pass and hit a jumper.
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