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LeBron James’ Triple Double Leads Cavs In Rout Of Bulls
Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - LeBron James recorded his fifth career playoff triple-double with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, as the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls, 121-98, in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Antawn Jamison donated 24 points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers, who bounced back from a 108-106 loss in Game 3 on Thursday and now hold a commanding 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven series.
Mo Williams and Anthony Parker chipped in 19 and 12 points, respectively, for Cleveland, which will look to wrap up the series at home on Tuesday.
The odds are in the Cavaliers’ favor to defeat Chicago for the first time in six all-time playoff matchups. Only eight teams in NBA history have been able to wipe out 3-1 deficits and only 14 have come back to win after being behind 2-0.
Joakim Noah finished with 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Bulls, who also got 21 points from Derrick Rose. Luol Deng ended with 16 points in defeat.
The Bulls’ ability to limit James to five points in the first quarter allowed them to head into the second only down three, 24-21.
Chicago went ahead by four, 39-35, on Kirk Hinrich’s trey with just over six minutes left until halftime. But Cleveland came back to grab a 47-45 lead a short time later on a James three, and a 13-4 Cavs run just before the break helped open up a 62-52 margin at the break.
Cleveland scored the first seven points of the third to build a 69-52 advantage. A pair of free throws each from Jamison and James near the midway point extended the lead to 23. James capped off the period with a halfcourt shot to make it a 99-76 contest heading to the fourth.
The Bulls put in the first four points of the final stanza to get within 19, 99-80, but that was as close as the hosts got the rest of the way. Consecutive three-pointers by James with 5 1/2 minutes remaining had the margin at 113-88.
The Cavs have never lost a playoff series after winning the first two games (6-0)...Since the NBA changed its playoff format in 1984, there have only been three occasions when a No. 8 seed has shocked a No. 1, and its only happened once in the Eastern Conference when Miami stunned New York in a five-game set back in 1999. The last time an eight topped a No. 1 was in 2007 when Golden State upended Dallas in 2007...Cleveland shot 53.2 percent from the field, while the Bulls made 37.4 percent of their shots...Hinrich had 10 points for Chicago, which turned the ball over 14 times...James went 6-of-9 from beyond the arc for the Cavaliers, who collectively made 12-of-25 shots from three- point range.
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