Donovan Mitchell poured in 37 points and Darius Garland supplied 29 as the host Cleveland Cavaliers became the sixth team in NBA history to open a season with 14 wins in a row by beating the Chicago Bulls 144-126 on Friday night.
In both teams’ first NBA Cup game this season, Chicago fought valiantly, but Cleveland was ultimately able to record its longest winning streak in team history.
It was anybody’s game with 10:41 remaining, as Bulls big man Jalen Smith sank a pair of free throws to make it 110-all. The Cavaliers proceeded to rattle off 12 of the next 15 points, though, taking a 122-113 lead with 6:08 left.
Chicago cut its deficit to four, 123-119, but a 16-2 run by Cleveland followed, ending any comeback hopes the Bulls had.
Mitchell also had seven boards for the Cavaliers, who got a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double from Jarrett Allen and 22 points from reserve Caris LeVert.
Cleveland outshot the visitors 54.8 percent to 51.1 percent from the floor.
Coby White netted a team-high 29 points for a Chicago squad that knocked down 20 of 42 3-pointers. Nikola Vucevic contributed 25 points and eight rebounds, and Patrick Williams notched 17 points and nine assists.
After trailing by four at intermission, Chicago forged an 87-87 tie on a three-point play from White with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter.
Just 41 seconds later, White canned a trey to give the Bulls their second lead of the game at 90-89. (They took a brief 6-5 lead in the game’s first two minutes.)
However, the rest of the frame belonged to the Cavaliers, who held a 107-102 edge heading into the fourth.
The 49 points were the most the Cavaliers have scored in a quarter in franchise history.
A triple from Mitchell extended the Cleveland lead to 19 at 57-38 with 10:16 left in the second quarter, but Chicago didn’t get discouraged. It put together a monster 27-12 run, pulling within 69-65 with 2:39 to go in the first half.
However, Garland and Allen each converted a three-point play to help the Cavaliers stay in front, and Cleveland took a 77-73 advantage into the break.
