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Bulls hope to claim top spot in East vs. lowly Cavs

Apr 8, 2011 - 3:17 PM (Sports Network) - The red-hot Chicago Bulls can clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a sixth straight win tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opener of a three-game road trip.

Chicago is four games ahead of both Boston and Miami in the conference standings with four games remaining, and hasn't captured bragging rights in the East since the 1997-98 season, when the Michael Jordan-led Bulls won their third straight and sixth NBA title in eight years.

A win tonight or a Celtics loss against Washington would wrap up the top seed for Chicago.

The Central Division-champion Bulls have won five in a row and 17 of their last 19 games, including a big 97-81 victory at home over the Celtics Thursday night. MVP candidate Derrick Rose pumped in a game-best 30 points and handed out eight assists, while Luol Deng scored 23 points for Chicago, which is headed for a first-round appearance against division-foe Indiana.

"Our goal is much higher than a regular season game in April," said Bulls forward Carlos Boozer, who had 14 points and 12 boards. "We didn't assemble this team so that we can have a great season and not be good in the playoffs. We want to go deep, and we have goals of hanging banners this year."

The Bulls have limited their opponent to 85 points or less this year an NBA- best 28 times (26-2), and own a 43-2 mark when holding the opposition to 95 points or less. They went 3-0 on the recent homestand and will also visit the Magic and Knicks on the upcoming road swing.

Chicago is 23-15 away from the Second City this season and has won four in a row as the visitor.

Cleveland is aiming for its first three-game winning streak since Nov. 5-9 and is coming off Wednesday's 104-96 victory in Toronto thanks to 28 points and 10 rebounds from J.J. Hickson.

Baron Davis chipped in 19 points and 12 assists, while Ryan Collins netted 14 points for the Cavs, who had a 60-40 advantage at the break.

"We knew they would come back, but we played through it," Hollins said.

The Cavaliers, out of the playoffs for the first time since 2004-05, have won two straight and three of four home games, and own an 11-28 ledger at Quicken Loans Arena this season. Forward Samardo Samuels (groin) is doubtful for Friday's game.

Hickson has seven double-doubles in the last nine games, averaging 20.0 points and 12.3 rebounds in that time. He owns 23 double-doubles since January 9th (42 games) which is tied for the fifth most in the league over that span.

Chicago is aiming to sweep the season series from Cleveland since winning all four meetings in the 1995-96 campaign. It is 3-0 so far this season and has won four in a row and six of the previous eight matchups between the teams.

The Bulls are only 4-10 in their last 14 trips to the Forest City.