|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Chris Gatling didn't mean to be disrespectful.
He thinks the Chicago Bulls are talented, play hard and can win on
any given night.
Just not this night.
Lamond Murray scored 26 points and Jim Jackson made a crucial
3-pointer in the fourth quarter Wednesday as the Cleveland
Cavaliers handed Chicago its 10th straight loss with a 94-86
victory.
"In the fourth quarter it did get a little scary," Gatling
said. "But I never thought we were going to lose. I never have
that attitude."
Gatling added 16 points -- 10 in the fourth quarter -- and Andre
Miller had 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Cavs,
who blew an 18-point lead in the second half but hung on.
The Cavs, coming off a stunning lopsided win over Portland,
appeared to be on their way to an easy win before the Bulls stormed
back behind rookie point guard Khalid El-Amin.
El-Amin scored all 17 of his points in the final 16:02 as the
Bulls finally got hot from the floor in the fourth. Chicago took an
82-81 lead with 4:53 left but couldn't make the plays down the
stretch.
"El-Amin made some big shots. Then we took it back," said
Clarence Weatherspoon, who had a key steal in the final minute.
"We didn't panic. We had to regroup and we did."
Playing with the flu, Elton Brand had 22 points and 14 rebounds
to lead the Bulls, who lost their ninth straight road game and had
their NBA-worst record fall to 6-36.
With the Bulls trailing 67-49 late in the third, El-Amin made
consecutive 3-pointers to trigger a 21-4 run that got Chicago
within 71-70 on Marcus Fizer's layup.
Brand's 10-foot jumper with 4:53 remaining gave Chicago its
first lead since 18-16, but the Bulls looked spent as they hustled
back on defense.
Miller's two free throws put the Cavs up 83-82 with 4:39 left
and Murray dunked off a missed layup on Cleveland's next
possession.
El-Amin scored on a layup to get the Bulls back within a point,
but Jackson drained a wide-open 3-pointer from the left side and
the Bulls never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
"When we were up by 18 our guys felt, 'This one is over, I'll
work on my stats,' " Cavs coach Randy Wittman said. "We were
holding the ball, not moving, shooting jump shots. Then we got back
to playing with five guys and Jimmy hit a big three."
Two nights after holding the powerful Portland Trail Blazers to
a franchise-low 28 percent shooting, the Cavs limited the Bulls to
31-percent shooting through three quarters.
But Chicago made 12 of its first 20 field-goal attempts during
its fourth-quarter rally.
Ron Mercer, who had 39 points Tuesday night in a loss to the
Blazers, scored just 11 on 5-for-20 shooting for the Bulls, who have
dropped nine of their last 10 against Cleveland.
"I'm always worried about teams like Chicago," Gatling said.
"You've got the worst team in the league there and you never know
what you're going to get. We were in a little funk and fortunately
Lamond carried us."
By winning two straight for the first time since Dec. 16, the
Cavs moved back to .500 at 20-20.
Game notes
The Bulls are 1-11 in January. ... With general manager Jim Paxson's
blessing, Gatling is ignoring an NBA request and continuing to wear
an orange headband that's embroidered with his No. 32. Gatling's
headband violates the league's uniform policies, which Paxson said
are "vague." "I don't know what the problem is," Gatling said.
"Guys have their numbers on their shoes and their names on their
wristbands. I guess I don't have enough stardom." Earlier this
season, the league asked Cavs reserves to stop wearing their "Zoo
Crew" T-shirts on the bench. ... Bulls forward Ron Artest missed his
second straight game with tendinitis in his right knee. ... The
Cavs, banged up all season, could get rookie center Chris Mihm back
next week. Mihm has missed nine games with a bruised right knee.
... Brand has 21 double-doubles this season.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Chicago Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 94
Chicago 86
Phoenix 106
Detroit 73
Miami 103
Toronto 83
Charlotte 81
New York 67
Philadelphia 85
Houston 84
Golden State 109
New Jersey 87
Seattle 114
LA Clippers 110
|
