James' triple-double leads Cavs past Bulls, 121-98

When it became clear during the second half of Sunday's Game 4 that the Bulls were hopelessly overmatched against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, fans at the United Center turned to their only legitimate source of ammunition: flashbacks and tributes to the Michael Jordan era.

Jordan's Bulls still hold a 6-0 lead in NBA championships over LeBron's Cavs. By comparison, Cleveland's 3-1 lead over the Bulls in this first-round playoff series seems less significant.

Still, though, James gave a vivid demonstration of why he might - might - turn out to be better than Jordan when it's all said and done a dozen years from now.

While everyone else played on a regulation court Sunday, James seemed to be engaged in a furious game of Nerf basketball.

Can he hit a shot from the hallway? The kitchen? The living room?

The final answer was all of the above as James knocked down 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range, including a half-court shot at the third-quarter buzzer.

The Cavaliers' superstar finished with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, leading his team to an easy 121-98 victory over the Bulls.

Cleveland can wrap up the series Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena.

"They really took it to us tonight," Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said. "I think they just cranked up their intensity."

This actually was James' third-highest scoring game in the series. But the Cavaliers were sharing the ball and clicking on offense.

They shot 53.2 percent from the field as a team, while Antawn Jamison (24 points) and Mo Williams (19) joined in the scoring spree.

"If LeBron's going to have 40, we have to find a way to slow down those other guys," said center Joakim Noah, rounding off James' point total.

Noah provided one historic highlight for the home team Sunday. He finished with 21 points and 20 rebounds, the first 20-20 playoff performance in franchise history.

Even though they shot poorly throughout the game (37.4 percent overall), the Bulls were competitive for most of the first half. With 3:05 remaining in the second quarter, a pair of free throws by Derrick Rose brought the Bulls within 47-46.

That's when things turned sour very quickly.

During the final three minutes of the first half, the Bulls committed 7 fouls and the Cavaliers drained 9 of 11 free throws. James knocked down a jumper from just inside the 3-point line to put the visitors up 62-52 at halftime.

On the Bulls' first possession of the second half, Rose turned his ankle and stayed on the floor while Cleveland scored on the other end. Rose didn't come out, but the Bulls missed a string of outside jumpers and the Cavs quickly stretched the lead to 21 before the third quarter was half over.

"They were putting up points fast," Hinrich said. "We haven't been that type of team all year, and I think when we feel the pressure to do that, we struggle. Settling for jumpers, not sharing the ball."

Added forward Luol Deng: "I thought once they got the lead, we started rushing a little bit, trying to take shots to get back in the game. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I thought we took a lot of jumpers and we weren't making them."

The Bulls never came close to getting back in the game. James put his personal stamp on the blowout by going 4-for-4 from 3-point land during the final 12:01.

This was likely the final home game for the Bulls this season. But Rose (21 points) vowed to keep fighting Tuesday when the teams return to Cleveland.

"We know we can go out there and win," he said. "We just have to play together, rebound the ball and play our up-tempo type game.

"My confidence is always going to be high. No matter what, I'm still going to be aggressive. My team's still going to follow me, and it's going to be a fun game."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p>

<p class="breakhead">Three star performers</p>

<p class="News"><b>1. LeBron James. </b>Who else? The future repeat MVP piled up a ridiculous triple-double with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He tossed in 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range just to stick it to the Michael Jordan-loving home fans.</p>

<p class="News"><b>2. Joakim Noah</b> made the best of a tough situation, finishing with 21 points and 20 rebounds. According to the Bulls, this is the first 20-20 game in franchise playoff history.</p>

<p class="News"><b>3. Antawn Jamison</b>, picked up in a trade-deadline steal from Washington, scored 24 points for the Cavaliers, 1 more than his team's margin of victory.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Tale of two defenses:</b> While the Bulls struggled all night to get to the rim or knock down jumpers. Cleveland shot a robust 53.2 percent from the field and tossed in 12 baskets from 3-point range. The Bulls shot 37.4 percent overall.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Not over yet: </b>Don't forget, the last time the Bulls trailed 3-1 in a playoff series they went to Detroit and won Game 5 in 2007. The Bulls haven't dropped a playoff series in fewer than six games since 1988.</p>

<div class="infoBox">

<h1>More Coverage</h1>

<div class="infoBoxContent">

<div class="infoArea">

<h2>Photo Galleries</h2>

<ul class="gallery">

<li><a href="/story/?id=376023">Images of Game 4<span class="date">[4/25/10]</span></a></li>

</ul>

<h2>Stories</h2>

<ul class="links">

<li><a href="/story/?id=376036">James not planning on return for Game 6<span class="date">[4/25/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=376038">Cavs provide lesson off court: patience<span class="date">[4/25/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=376037">Noah: Bulls' performance 'disappointing'<span class="date">[4/25/10]</span></a></li>

</ul>

</div>

</div>

</div>