The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to fight off a late run from Chicago Bulls and take a 3-2 series lead with a 106-101 win Tuesday night in Cleveland. LeBron James had 38 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three blocks, hitting 14 of his 24 shots from the field.
Bulls vs. Cavaliers 2015 results: 3 things we learned in Cleveland’s Game 5 106-101 win
Cleveland now leads Chicago, 3-2, after a dominant James performance.
It was the first time all series that James looked like the player who had won two championships down in Miami. He took the ball to the basket and went down into the post while hitting shots from the outside and never turning the ball over. It was a masterful performance, one of the best of his impressive career.
Now the Cavaliers find themselves in command of their second-round series against the Bulls. Eighty-two percent of the teams that have won Game 5 of a previously tied series later advanced to the next round. Now those odds are in Cleveland’s favor.
It was the Bulls, though, who came out fast in Game 5. Chicago scored the game's first eight points as Derrick Rose continuously broke down Cleveland's defense. He scored 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter and staked Chicago to an early 12-4 lead.
Two early fouls on Jimmy Butler -- the Bulls' best perimeter defender -- opened the gates for James, who responded with his best quarter of the series. He forced his way to the rim and took the smaller Tony Snell, who guarded him while Butler was on the bench, down to the post. James scored the Cavaliers' first 12 points in the second quarter and ended the half with 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting.
The Bulls couldn't figure out ways to score, especially with Pau Gasol nursing a hamstring injury and being forced out of the lineup once again. At one point in the second quarter, the Bulls went nearly six minutes without a basket. A nearly 15-minute stretch without an assist didn't help.
Overall, the Bulls were outscored 29-20 in the second quarter and entered the half trailing, 54-44. Chicago was able to climb back into the game with an 6-0 run to start the second half, but Kyrie Irving -- who finished with 25 points -- found his touch from the outside and James continued to dominate on both ends of the floor. The Cavaliers looked like they were going to enter the fourth quarter with a 12-point lead until Nikola Mirotic, who had missed his previous 13 shots from the field, buried a shot from 60 feet away to cut the deficit to 80-71.
In the fourth quarter, things got even more heated. Bulls forward Taj Gibson was assessed a flagrant 2 and ejected after kicking Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova while Dellavedova was lying under the basket on the ground. The two had become tangled while fighting for a rebound and replays showed that Dellavedova, while on the ground, tried to lock Gibson's legs. The officials, however, decided not to give him a technical foul. There was some pushing and shoving between the two teams before Gibson walked off the floor, but nothing escalated.
An 18-5 run by the Bulls in the fourth quarter cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 97-93 with 4:32 left in the game. Butler, who led the Bulls with 29 points, hit a three-pointer with one minute left to cut the lead to 101-99. But James then blocked a Rose fastbreak layup and Butler missed on a three-pointer from the corner. Just like that, the comeback attempt came to an end.
Game 6 will take place Thursday night in Chicago.
3 things we learned
1. LeBron James can still be efficient
James came into Game 5 shooting just 38 percent. His buzzer-beater in Game 4 overshadowed the fact that he was just 10-of-30 that game and didn’t look like the efficient player we had become used to watching during his time in Miami. He was especially struggling from the perimeter. So, in Game 5, James decided to get into the paint and drive more than he has all series. He went down to the post and hit 14 of his 24 shots from the field. The result was a dominant performance. More importantly, it was an efficient one, too.
2. Kyrie Irving can still move
In Game 4, Irving looked like a man playing with a strained right foot and tendinitis in his left knee ... probably because he has a strained right foot and tendinitis in his left knee. He told Rachel Nichols before Game 5 that he was planning on just being a decoy. Turns out the decoy was that message. James is going to get all the attention, but Irving was also great in Game 5, shooting 9-of-16 from the field and finishing with 25 points. His shooting helped space the floor, which made it easier for James to get to the rim. If Irving can keep playing at this level, the Cavaliers should advance to the conference finals.
3. The Bulls’ offense is a mess
Coming into Game 5, Chicago was shooting 41 percent this series and scoring 101.3 points per 100 possessions. Neither of those numbers are good, and they didn’t improve in Game 5. With Gasol on the sidelines again on Tuesday, Chicago had nowhere to go for easy baskets. The Bulls shots just 40 percent from the field. If it wasn’t for the team’s prowess from the foul line -- 26-of-28 -- the offensive numbers would look even worse. If the Bulls want to come back from this 3-2 deficit, they need to figure things out on offense.
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