EditorsNote: 9th graf, take out repeated first name of Kris Dunn
Zach LaVine scored 21 of his game-high 42 points in the fourth quarter and Lauri Markkanen had 17 points to help the host Chicago Bulls rally past the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 118-116 victory on Saturday night.
Chicago trailed by as many as 19 points in the third quarter before opening the fourth on a 16-2 run to draw within 104-103. LaVine, who notched his third game of at least 40 points this season, banked in a pullup jumper with 4:38 to go to give Chicago a 108-107 lead and set off a see-saw finish.
Cleveland lost for the fourth straight game to conclude a six-game road trip at 2-4. Both teams were playing the second legs of back-to-backs.
Cedi Osman's trey from the right wing brought the Cavaliers to within 117-116 with 11.9 seconds remaining. The Bulls turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass to give Cleveland another chance, but Kevin Love missed a layup attempt. Kris Dunn split a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds to play, and the Bulls stole Cleveland's inbounds pass to seal the victory. It was the last of the Cavaliers' 26 turnovers.
Love scored 29 points to lead five Cavaliers in double figures. Collin Sexton added 26 points, Darius Garland and Osman had 16 apiece and Tristan Thompson scored 14.
A snowstorm in Chicago delayed the Cavaliers' travel plans and created an extra arduous ending to the team's sojourn. Instead of flying to the Windy City following Friday's loss at Memphis, the Cavaliers traveled Saturday morning. The Bulls contended with the same inconvenience after losing in Philadelphia earlier Friday.
Torrid first-half shooting helped Cleveland overcome 12 turnovers in the first 24 minutes. Cleveland shot 26-for-38 (68.4 percent) in the first half, including 12-for-17 (70.6 percent) from long range to take a 73-56 lead into the break. For Chicago, it marked a season high for first-half points allowed.
Love led the outburst with 23 first-half points on 9-for-11 shooting with four treys. Sexton had 17 points at the break, and Garland had 11. Cleveland drilled 13 successive shots at one point, helping create distance after Chicago took a 40-39 lead on a pair of Chandler Hutchison free throws with 9:04 to go in the second quarter.
Luke Kornet and Coby White both had 11 points for the Bulls, while Dunn had 10.
--Field Level Media
