Bulls Snap Cavs’ 3-Game Winning Streak, 86-85
The Cavs were down one point with 3.5 seconds left, but LeBron James couldn’t convert on a lay-up and didn’t draw a foul call he thought he deserved, and the Chicago Bulls upset the Cavs at home, 86-85 on Thursday night.
After drawing a shot-clock violation and a huge defensive stop on the Bulls, the Cavs regained possession with the chance for one final shot. Everyone in the Q knew the ball was going to LeBron, and it did. He beat Bulls F Luol Deng by a step, drove into the lane, but drew contact from Bulls C Joakim Noah, and lost the ball out of bounds.
James was incredulous that he didn’t receive the call, going to the scorer’s tables while the referees were conferencing to plead his case. Even after the final horn had sounded, James pled his case once more to the referees, who could do nothing by that point.
“It’s a call you think you may get,” James said. “I felt a push from Deng and some contact over the top from Noah. Enough to put me on the free throw line? Yes. But that’s a judgment call for the officials.”
Despite stuffing the box score as usual (25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block), James had a rough night, as he took two hard shots that left him slightly worse for the wear.
James rolled his left ankle after he pulled up under the Cavs’ basket in the first half, then slammed into a chair as he dove for a loose ball into the courtside seats.
“I took some good shots tonight, and it wasn’t even from the Bulls,” James said. “I’ve had better days and I’ve had worse.”
What’s worse, for James, is that with this loss, the Cavs matched their home loss record for all of last season (the Cavs have lost two games at home already this year, they went 39-2 last year in the regular season). With the offense traditionally getting off to slow starts this year, it’s up to the King and his 7 foot joker to figure out how to stop the bleeding before it’s too late.
