Mitchell's Second Half Heroics Rally Cavs to Victory Over Bulls

By Isaiah Magar | KZA Sports

Cleveland, OH

The Cleveland Cavaliers Hosted the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

The Cleveland Cavaliers started this one out strong with a quick 8-0 run, putting the bulls in a hole to start. But Josh Giddey got the scoring started for Chicago after almost three minutes had passed in the first quarter. After going on their own 7-0 run, the Bulls allowed the Cavs seven straight points once again. It was certainly a game of runs as the bulls would come back to tie it up at 15 before Cleveland once again went off, for nine straight this time. Early turnovers and dull shooting had the Bulls down, but they weren't gonna let the quarter end without a bit of a rally. Chicago was able to recover and make it a three point game after the first period.

The second quarter was all Chicago, as they made six three-pointers in the period. Cleveland, on the other hand, went absolutely cold, only scoring 24 points after scoring 32 in the first quarter. The Bulls were led by Josh Giddey who had 13 points and four assists in the half. Evan Mobley led all scorers in the half with 16, but the Cavs still trailed the Bulls 72-56 at the half.

Just with how the second quarter belonged to Chicago, the third belonged to Cleveland. The Cavs outscored the Bulls 40-26 to close the gap to just two points after the third quarter. Two of the Cav's third quarter points came on a nasty ankle breaker by Deandre Hunter on Josh Giddey. Hunter would then go up to put Patrick Williams on a poster. The momentum stayed with Cleveland as Giddey exited the game to tend to his ankle. He would eventually return later in the quarter, but the damage had already been done and it was now only a 98-96 lead for Chicago.

The Cleveland momentum stayed true throughout the fourth quarter as Donovan Mitchell erupted for 26 points in the second half, leading the Cavs to a 128-122 victory over the Bulls. The Chicago offense just did not click, and they only scored 24 points in the final period; their lowest of any quarter this game. Isaac Okoro led the Bulls with 19 points and Mitchell, along with Hunter, led the home Cavaliers with 29 apiece. Cleveland improves to 7-3 on the season while Chicago falls to 6-3.

Up Next: The Cavs head to Miami for two straight against the Heat

The Bulls host Wembanyama and the Spurs

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