The Cleveland Cavaliers’ undefeated streak is alive and well.
Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers flew ahead in the fourth quarter Monday night at the United Center, defeating the Chicago Bulls 119-113. That brought them to a perfect season record of 12-0.
The Cavaliers, the last undefeated team standing in the NBA this season, are now just the seventh team to start 12-0 or better in league history. It’s already the best start in franchise history, and the best start to a season since the Golden State Warriors opened the 2015-16 season with 24 straight wins. The Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, defeated the Warriors in the NBA Finals that season.
Mitchell went off in the first half, keeping Cleveland in lockstep with the Bulls after all five of their starters reached double figures in the first 24 minutes. Mitchell had 25 points in the first half on five three-pointers, and he made a wild 360-degree layup while flying down the middle of the court midway through the second quarter.
Although the Bulls took the lead in the third quarter, jumping out to a nine-point lead on a pair of free throws from Ayo Dosunmu late in the period, the Cavaliers scored an 11-2 run to tie the game almost immediately. The Cavs also held Chicago to just two field goals in the final six minutes of the quarter, easy floaters from both Dalen Terry and Josh Giddey. That pushed Cleveland to a three-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
While the Bulls tied the game again midway through the final period with a fadeaway midrange jumper from Zach LaVine, the Cavaliers immediately turned the game on. Evan Mobley threw down an easy alley-oop, then Donovan Mitchell scored a fast-break layup off a Ty Jerome steal just seconds later. That quickly turned into a 9-2 run, which was enough to keep the Cavaliers one step ahead the rest of the way and allow them to close out the six-point win.
Mitchell finished with 36 points and eight rebounds, shooting 7-for-16 from behind the arc. Darius Garland added 17 points and five assists, and Evan Mobley finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
LaVine led the Bulls with 26 points and six rebounds. Nikola Vucevic finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, and Coby White added 20 points with five 3-pointers. The Bulls also had 20 turnovers as a team, which the Cavaliers turned into 35 points.
The Cavaliers will take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. A win there would match the longest winning streak in team history.
While they are confident they will eventually drop a game, Mitchell and the Cavaliers look like real contenders in the Eastern Conference through the first few weeks of the season.
