NBA: Cavaliers eye split with Bulls in finale of home-and-home set

The Chicago Bulls protected their home court on Wednesday, winning the opening game of a home-and-home series against the Cleveland Cavaliers behind a triple-double performance from Josh Giddey.

Cleveland will look to respond Friday while also trying to halt its slide in the Eastern Conference standings.

Giddey moved into 23rd place in NBA history with his 24th career triple-double, leading the Bulls to a 127-111 victory. The Australian guard finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.

The win marked Chicago’s second victory in a 10-game stretch and improved the Bulls to 6-15 since starting the season with five consecutive wins. The 16-point margin was Chicago’s largest victory since April 13 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

“This is kind of what we’ve been trying to get back to for a while,” Giddey said. “We started the season the right way, then went through a rough stretch. This was a step in the right direction.”

At just 23 years old, Giddey is making a strong case for his first NBA All-Star selection. He now has six triple-doubles this season, one shy of his career-high set last year with Chicago.

After averaging 13.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists during his first three NBA seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 6-foot-7 guard has exceeded those numbers in both of his seasons with the Bulls.

Giddey’s all-around performance helped Chicago withstand a 32-point, five-assist outing from Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell. Coby White scored 25 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and nine rebounds.

“Coach Billy Donovan has been mixing it up with double-big lineups, and Vuce was awesome,” Giddey said. “It was a good night against a really good team that’s kind of in a similar situation as us.”

Cleveland, which finished with the top record in the Eastern Conference last season, has fallen from second place to ninth over the past month after losing eight of its last 13 games.

The Cavaliers’ recent struggles include losses to sub-.500 teams such as Portland, an injury-depleted Golden State squad, and Charlotte.

“I always say during these times, you discover a lot about yourself and your team,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “You can use that down the line. We’ll try to build on the positives.”

Mitchell remains Cleveland’s biggest bright spot, averaging a career-best 30.7 points per game while leading the NBA with 105 three-pointers. He logged a team-high 33 minutes against Chicago despite feeling under the weather, according to Atkinson.

Small forward Jaylon Tyson also provided a boost, scoring 21 points after replacing De’Andre Hunter in the starting lineup. Hunter finished with 12 points and is shooting just 34.3 percent from the field over seven games this month.

“The change was to help our bench scoring and the team overall,” Atkinson said. “When you’re 4-6 in your last 10 games, you’ve got to try something different.”

Cleveland and Chicago are now tied 1-1 in the season series. The Cavaliers earned a 128-122 home win on Nov. 8, with Mitchell and Hunter scoring 29 points apiece.

“The good news is we get to see them again,” Atkinson said. “It’s almost like a playoff series. We’ve got time to clean things up.” -Field Level Media/Reuters