CHICAO—This Bulls-Cavaliers rivalry is going to be something.
Friday’s home opener at the United Center produced the agonizingly familiar sight of Derrick Rose sitting in the locker room during the fourth quarter and overtime.
It also produced some spectacular basketball.
The Cavaliers prevailed, 114-108, in overtime thanks to LeBron James’s 36 points and eight rebounds. After a passive fourth quarter in which Tony Snell did a solid defensive job, James scored the Cavaliers’ first eight points in the extra session.
Meanwhile, Rose sprained his left ankle during the second quarter, gingerly played nine minutes and 22 seconds on it in the third quarter while settling for mostly jumpers and didn’t return. He finished with 20 points in 25 minutes, called the injury minor and said X-rays were negative with little swelling.
“I’m feeling good,” Rose said. “My ankle is throbbing a little bit. Go to Minnesota, try to give it a go [Saturday]. If not, still have [79] games. I’m walking around so everyone can breathe. It limited me to shooting jump shots and I wasn’t getting the bounce I wanted.”
At every turn in this early stage of the season, James has insisted the Bulls, by virtue of their chemistry, are the better team than the Cavaliers.
There’s only one problem with that theory. James is on the Cavaliers.
The United Center is used to once-in-a-generation players and James didn’t disappoint anything other than the Bulls’ home opener on Friday night. He scored on consecutive three-point plays to open the overtime and the Bulls never recovered.
The game pitted the teams most consider to be the favorites to meet in the Eastern Conference finals. And one difference from the Heat-Bulls rivalry it replaced surfaced immediately: No longer is a dominant rebounding advantage almost guaranteed.
The Cavaliers, led by Kevin Love’s 16 rebounds, absolutely pounded the Bulls on the glass, 52-42. This led to a 22-14 edge in second-chance points.
That Tristan Thompson, who grabbed 13 boards, beat Taj Gibson for an offensive rebound and dunk with 24 seconds left in overtime for the clinching basket seemed fitting.
“That was the difference in the game,” Coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Gibson, one of seven Bulls in double figures, had returned to the game despite being listed as questionable after rolling his left ankle as well while defending in the fourth quarter. Gibson even retreated to the locker room for a spell.
The Bulls looked to be sitting pretty late in regulation when Kirk Hinrich, who tied Rose for team-high honors at 20 points, turned into Larry Bird. Hinrich sank two three-pointers in 27 seconds, forcing a Kyrie Irving turnover in between the big shots, and followed with a nifty jumper over Matthew Dellavedova after dribbling between his legs.
That gave the Bulls a five-point lead with 47 seconds left in regulation. But James sank two free throws and Irving scored on a three-point play with a generous continuation following Gibson’s foul.
Asked if he got an explanation of that call, Thibodeau shook his head.
“They don’t talk to me,” he said.
James stuck to his theory on the Bulls.
“As far as chemistry, their ability to be together for so long, they are a better team than us right now,” James said. “We always felt if D-Rose is healthy, they can compete for a title. When D-Rose wasn’t healthy, they still competed. They just had a tough time scoring because you had an MVP out. But when he’s healthy and in the lineup, you have to be ready for him.”
Mike Dunleavy narrowly missed a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. And Pau Gasol’s six blocks highlighted the Bulls’ 14 blocks, just two off the franchise mark.
None of that mattered in the end.
“We got humbled,” Gibson said. “But we’ll see them again.”
Isaiah Thomas scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, rallying Phoenix with a relentless series of driving layups, and the Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs, 94-89.
Phoenix took its first lead when Thomas’s layup made it 88-87 with 3:34 to play. It was part of a 10-0 run that put the Suns up 92-87 on Markieff Morris’s dunk with 1:09 left.
Manu Ginobili made two of three free throws with 59.8 seconds left. Then San Antonio had a chance to tie at the finish.
But, with 6.5 seconds remaining, Boris Diaw couldn’t get the ball inbounds and was called for a five-second violation.
Tony Parker scored 19 for the defending champion Spurs, but just three in the fourth quarter. Tim Duncan added 16.
Blake Griffin scored 39 points and went 11-for-12 from the free throw line, powering the Los Angeles Clippers to a gritty 118-111 victory over the winless Lakers.
DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 13 rebounds during a foul-plagued 39 minutes, while Chris Paul had 12 points, 10 assists and two steals for the Clippers.
Jordan Hill scored 13 of his 21 points in the third quarter and Kobe Bryant had 21, but cost the Lakers down the stretch with his cold shooting.
Zach Randolph scored 11 of his 22 points in the third quarter and added 13 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 97-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Marc Gasol had 20 points and six rebounds and Mike Conley added 17 points for the Grizzlies, who are 2-0 for just the third time in franchise history.
Chris Copeland came off the bench with 16 points and six rebounds and CJ Miles finished with 13 for the short-handed Pacers.
Elsewhere, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 93-81, in its home opener and Rudy Gay scored 40 points to lift the Sacramento Kings over the Portland Trail Blazers, 103-94. K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune with AP
Image credits: AP