Injuries and Illness Beat the Cavs, Not the Bulls.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a lot to overcome last night but couldn’t find a way to do it as they fell to the Chicago Bulls 106-94.

With point guard Kyrie Irving out with hamstring tightness, power forward Kevin Love out with illness, and small forward Lebron James ailing under illness as well, the Cav’s bench had to step up. Although it was not enough to get a win, the Cavs bench had an impressive display.

Shooting guard Jordan McRae lead the new starters, delivering a strong performance with a huge 21 points. He had the second most minutes, five shy of Lebron at 33. Power forward Channing Frye contributed plenty as well with 15 points. Coming off the bench was point guard Kay Felder whose run in the fourth quarter momentarily cut the Cavalier’s deficit down to just one point.

Its no surprise Lebron was the lead scorer but perhaps it was more impressive than usual as he was listed as questionable up until the final five minutes before the game fighting illness. With 31 points and eight rebounds it was hard to tell he was anything but healthy.

After the first quarter the Cavs had a seven point lead up 23-16. Chicago Bulls small forward Doug McDermott almost single-handedly changed that with 15 points in the second quarter and by the end of the first half the Bull had the lead, up 52-46. The Cavs had a stronger third quarter with ten points from Lebron and eight from McRae, but they still failed to cut the deficit and remained down nine at the end of the third, 83-74. From the ten minute mark to the seven minute mark, an exciting run by Felder, center Tristan Thompson, shooting guard Iman Shumpert, and Lebron cut the deficit to just one point. It seemed as though there was a chance for the Cavs, but they quickly lost their streak and fell back into a 12 point deficit by the end of the fourth, giving the Bulls the win.

The Cavs start this season’s longest streak on the road in Brooklyn as they take on the Nets tomorrow night.

Below is a soundbite from Head coach Ty Lue:

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