Butler, Bulls Top King James, Cavs 111-105

On Friday night, the Chicago Bulls defeated the defending NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers 111-105. The Bulls were lead by small forward Jimmy Butler with 26 points. Cavs small forward Lebron James lead all scorers with 27 points and had 13 assists. However besides point guard Kyrie Irving (who had 20 points), Lebron did not get much support tonight. 

Meanwhile the Bulls had two more scorers who had 20+ points. Shooting guard Dwayne Wade had 24 points while power forward Taj Gibson had 23. Gibson also added 11 rebounds for a double-double. Point guard Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. 

Rondo's triple-double contributed to the Bulls victory over the Cavs.
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Both teams played a very close contested game. In the first quarter, the Cavs went out to a 31-24 lead with 3:19 left. However, the Bulls came back and cut the lead to 31-30 with 1:46 to play. The score at the end of the first quarter was 33-30 Cleveland.

In the 2nd quarter with 10:02 to play, Channing Frye fired home a dunk which was assisted by Lebron to give the Cavs a 40-32 lead. Both teams traded baskets as Cleveland maintained their 8 point lead with 6:58 to play in the half. The Bulls then went on an 8-2 run as Rondo's layup cut the lead to 51-49 with 4:22 to play in the half. The Bulls would take the lead 59-58 on a Taj Gibson dunk with 26 seconds to play in the half. However, Kevin Love's free throws gave the Cavs a 60-59 advantage at halftime. 

Wade may be the answer the Bulls need to stop Lebron.
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In the third quarter, the Bulls built the largest lead of the game at 11 with 1:46 to play in the quarter. Butler hit a two point shot assisted from Nikola Mirotic to give the Bulls an 86-75 lead. The Bulls would outscore the Cavs 29-20 in the third to take an 88-80 lead into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Cavs would get as close as 3 points as Richard Jefferson hit a 3-pointer and Lebron made a layup. This cut the Bulls lead down to 92-89 with 8:29 to play. However, Rondo answered with a quick two and a 25-foot three to put the Bulls back up 97-89 with 7:20 to play. Love's three-pointer would cut the lead to 103-99 with 4:07 left. After trading baskets, Wade's layup with 2:39 to play proved to be the game winner putting the Bulls up 107-101. The Cavs cut the lead to 4 late when Irving made a layup, stole the inbounds pass and hit a two point shot to cut the lead to 109-105 with 8 seconds left. However, Butler's free throws iced the game to give the Bulls the 111-105 win.

Butler lead the Bulls over the defending champ Cavs.
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With the win, the Bulls are 2 games behind the Central Division leading Cavs. The Bulls rebounded from an upset loss at the expense of the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the Cavs have lost 3 straight. The Bulls travel to Dallas Saturday night to take on the worst team in the NBA the 3-15 Mavericks. As per the World Series bet with Wade, Lebron wore a Chicago Cubs jersey before the game. 

Lebron holds up his end of the World Series bet with Dwayne Wade wearing a Cubs jersey.
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