NBA Playoffs: Chicago Bulls Lose Game 5 in Cleveland, Down 2-3 in Series

By Matthew Price | May 12, 2015

May 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) dribbles the ball in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bulls squared off against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Quicken Loans Arena for an important Game 5 showdown. Pau Gasol did not play due to a hamstring injury, and this hurt Chicago on offense. The Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, held off a Bulls comeback and won the game 106-101.

This series has been full of momentum, so when the game started with Taj Gibson making a layup followed by Kyrie Irving clanking his first shot against the side of the rim, you could tell the Bulls would start off hot. This led to a 16-6 run for the Bulls on 7-9 shooting. Chicago did a good job of rebounding the ball and running their plays smoothly, but a steal (and dunk) by James sparked a Cleveland response. The fans got into it, and the Cavaliers finished with a 17-6 run, leading 25-24 after the first quarter. Derrick Rose led all scorers with 12 points.

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The second quarter started off with James simply overpowering Jimmy Butler. James knew that his defender already had two fouls, and so he kept attacking… and succeeding. The Bulls went on another one of their “offensive droughts,”and the Cavaliers capitalized, leading 40-32 with 5:45 to go in the second. Chicago was being out-hustled, and the momentum was with Cleveland the entire quarter. The Cavaliers were up 10 points, 54-44, at halftime.

Chicago started off the second half strong, and they picked up the pace, scoring more on fast break opportunities. The Cavaliers were struggling on offense, and the Bulls were down just three points with six minutes to go.

Bulls fans held their breath yet again when Rose grabbed his right wrist in serious pain after fighting for the ball on the floor with Irving. He needed to call a timeout to get it evaluated, but he came back following the commercial break. It’s uncertain how serious the injury is, but it looks like Rose will be alright.

The Bulls cut the lead down to just one, but a couple of 3-pointers by Irving put the Cavs back up seven. It seemed that Cleveland would have all the momentum heading into the fourth, but a last-second half court shot by Nikola Mirotic swished in as time expired, and the Bulls were now losing 71-80.

Cleveland didn’t slow down as the fourth quarter started, and the Bulls started to get frustrated. Taj Gibson and Matthew Dellavedova got into a fight that resulted with both teams getting involved. Dellavedova clasped his legs around Gibson as he tried to get up, and Gibson proceeded to kick him.

The refs ejected Gibson with a flagrant 2 foul, and Dellavedova shot free-throws. TNT announcer Chris Webber thought Delladova should have at least gotten a technical foul since he appeared to instigate the scrum, and I can’t help but agree with him. Although what Gibson did was wrong, Dellavedova started it, and he should have gotten some kind of foul. Instead, he walked away with two free-throws and Cleveland kept possession.

After this, the Cavaliers took temporary control of the game. It appeared that Chicago wouldn’t be able to recover since the Cavaliers weren’t missing anything, but they went on a big run midway through the fourth and cut the lead down to just five points. With 1:28 remaining, Butler hit a contested three-pointer and Chicago was only down 99-101!

Unfortunately for Chicago, the Cavaliers grabbed an offensive rebound following a missed jumper with 20 seconds left, and Chicago was forced to foul Kyrie Irving. He made both free throws, and Chicago proceeded to turn the ball over on offense, ending any chances the Bulls had of making a comeback. Cleveland went on to win Game 5, 106-101.

It was a good game, but LeBron James and the Cavaliers simply outplayed Chicago tonight. Cleveland made all of their shots when it counted, and it never really seemed like the Bulls would pull off the upset. The Bulls are now down 2-3 in the series, and they will play their next game on Thursday in the United Center.

Next: Bulls and Cavs Could Both Have New Coaches Next Year

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