Cavs @ Bulls

It's early March and Cleveland fans are talking playoff basketball. Going into Chicago, the Cavaliers were 1/2 game behind the 8th playoff seed and with a win would tie for the last spot. So with two days rest, you would think they would come out with a bang and 'bull' their way to a victory.

Well the game came and Chicago went away with a 92-81 victory. The Cavaliers entered the game as if they were the ones with nothing to play for, instead of the other way around. Chicago came into the contest tied with Orlando for the fewest wins in the NBA. Ironically, the Cavaliers have had their hands full with both teams. This was Chicago's second win versus the Cavs this year.

Even with two days rest, the Cavaliers looked sluggish and lost. The loss dropped the Cavs into a tie for the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

LeBron James visiting the house that his idol "Michael" built saw another rookie steal the show. Kirk Hinrich, the seventh pick in last year's draft, scored a game-high 22 pts to go along with 7 assists and 8 rebounds before fouling out. Hinrich, the only rookie to land a triple-double this year, hit on 3-6 from 3-point land. James just earning his fourth consecutive Rookie of the Month Award for February, scored 18 pts with 4 steals in the loss.

With the flat start and all, Cleveland held a two point lead after one quarter of play. Jeff McInnis and Zydrunas Ilgauskas combined for 15 of the Cavs 23 points to take the early lead.

But that wouldn't stand for very long. Ilgauskas got in early foul trouble and the Cavs bench couldn't hold their own. Ilgauskas made an 18 ft. jumper to pull the Cavs within 32-29 with 8:22 to play. The Bulls then took on the form of their glory days and went on a 15-2 spurt and kick the game open. The Bulls took a 51-37 lead into halftime.

Cleveland went into the half down by fourteen, and one would think with the playoff picture in sight they would come out with a bang and get themselves back into the game. But that didn't happen. A Carlos Boozer jumper with just over seven minutes to play pulled the Cavs to 58-47 of Chicago. Cleveland then went silent for the next 3 1/2 minutes. Hinrich scored 8 straight Bulls' points and had 11 in the quarter as Chicago built their lead to 74-56 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was pretty much a sum of the game. The Cavs made a late push, but Jamal Crawford scored nine straight on three 3-pointers to keep the Bulls ahead comfortably.

Both teams shot poorly. Chicago held a 37 fg percentage on 31-82 shooting, while the Cavs hit on 31-83 for 36 percent. Cleveland was 1-12 from 3-point range while Chicago nailed 7-19 from long range. Both teams grabbed 50 rebounds.

Ilgauskas had 19 pts and 10 boards in just 29 minutes of work while Boozer added another double-double with 12 pts. and 13 rebounds. McInnis played a tough game with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Antonio Davis was a thorn to the Cavs with 18 pts and 5 boards. Eddie Curry made some clutch shots and had 18 pts and 7 rebounds. Crawford was held scoreless until the fourth quarter and ended up with 11 pts., 8 boards, and 7 assists. It was Jerome Williams and (off the bench) Tyson Chandler that killed the Cavaliers. They combined for 20 rebounds, of which 11 were on the offensive end, while Chandler also rejected 4 shots.

The Cavs play at home Wednesday night against the Hawks.

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