Bulls Hold Off Late Cavaliers Rally to Win Opener

By Vincent Frank on Wednesday, October 28^th 2015

The Chicago Bulls were expected to have a much improved offense under first-year head coach Fred Hoiberg, but it was the defense that came up big time in an opening night win over the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

With his team up just two after nearly blowing a double-digit lead late in the fourth, All-Star Pau Gasol sent LeBron James away on a drive, forcing Cleveland to in-bound the ball with less than four seconds left.

Unable to get a good play drawn up, the Cavaliers saw Jimmy Butler swat the ball away to give Chicago a hard-fought 97-95 win.

For the Bulls, it was a balanced all-around performance. Replacing Joakim Noah in the starting lineup this season, Nikola Mirotic led five players in double figures with 19 points. Derrick Rose put up 18 with Butler tallying 17 points.

However, it was the defense that came to play here. Cleveland shot just 40 percent from the field, including 9-of-29 from the three-point line.

Playing without an injured Kyrie Irving, LeBron James led all scorers with 25 points on 12-of-22 shooting. He also added 10 boards and five assists while turning the ball over just one time.

Game/Fantasy Notes

* The two teams combined to shoot just 65 percent (26-of-40) from the free throw line with Cleveland coming in at just 58 percent.

* In his first game since signing a massive contract extension, Tristan Thompson put up only two points while providing 12 total rebounds.

* Playing off the bench, Joakim Noah failed to score or attempt a single shot in the game. Though, he did add nine rebounds and four assists in 17 minutes of action. Noah was one of five Bulls' bench players to put up 14-plus minutes of action.

* Despite his strong defensive play at the end of the game, Gasol put up just two points in 32 minutes. It was his lowest point total since November of 2013 when he was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

* Chicago put up just 13 assists on 37 field goals. Rose led the team with five. Outside of him and Noah (four), not a single member of the Bulls put up more than two assists.