Cavaliers 81 - 96 Bulls
Final
  for this game

Well-rested Bulls tangle with Cavs

Nov 11, 2013 - 3:42 PM

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(SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Bulls will try to get their season back on track, starting Monday night with a home tilt against Central Division rivals, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Bulls have been idle since Friday's home victory over the Utah Jazz, 97-73.

"It would be great if it happened right away. But we've shown we can be good," said forward Luol Deng. "We just had a few minutes when we haven't been great and teams get a run on us. We just have to keep working on getting that 48 minutes. Everybody in this locker room is working so hard. That's why I think it will come together."

Deng had an amazing night against the Jazz with 19 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and five steals. Carlos Boozer also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards.

Joakim Noah got on track a bit with 14 points and Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson both netted 12 points.

The Bulls defense, a calling card for the team in seasons past, held the Jazz to 29.4 percent shooting from the floor. One low light for Chicago on Friday was 21 turnovers, including five by Deng and four by Rose.

The Bulls are well-rested and the same can't be said for the Cavs. They went two overtimes before knocking off the pesky Philadelphia 76ers, 127-125, on Saturday night.

Kyrie Irving missed game-winning shots in regulation and the first overtime, but hit a go-ahead layup with 0.6 seconds remaining to give Cleveland the victory.

"The Sixers did a great job of crowding the paint the first two times I shot to try to win the game," said Irving. "We were in great spots offensively and at the end, they came for a double-team and it just fell right into my hands. I attacked Michael Carter-Williams on the outside and they didn't have any shot-blockers in the paint, so luckily enough, I made the shot."

Irving finished with a season-high 39 points and he dished out 12 assists.

Dion Waiters added 24 points, while Jarrett Jack scored 20 off the bench. Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao both posted double-doubles for a Cleveland team which is 0-4 on the road this season.

Irving, Waiters, Thompson and Varejao all logged over 42 minutes on Saturday night.

The Bulls took three of four from the Cavs last season. Cleveland is 3-8 in its last 11 in the Windy City.






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