Bulls crush incomplete Cavaliers
CLEVELAND – LeBron James was reminded what it’s like to be Cleveland’s only star.
Lonesome and no fun. Jimmy Butler took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 straight points during a critical stretch and leading the Chicago Bulls to a 106-94 win Wednesday night over the Cavaliers, who had a lessthanpercent James and were without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Butler, who was coming off a 52-point game against Charlotte, scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth as the Bulls held off Cleveland’s rally and ended the Cavs’ 13-game winning streak with James in the lineup.
Butler said Dwyane Wade, who returned to his hometown this summer, encouraged his new teammate to take control.
“The guy who wears No. 3 on this team came to me and was like, ‘ Win the game,’” Butler said. “So I guess a switch cut on. I knew I was going to have to do that in the fourth anyway, but with him telling me that, you can’t let D-Wade down.
“He’s been doing it for years. It was my time to step up.”
In Oakland, California, Stephen Curry had 35 points with five three-pointers, Kevin Durant scored 30 points and blocked three shots and the Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 125-117.
Zaza Pachulia scored 13 points to hit double figures in consecutive games for the first time this season, just his fourth time reaching double digits for Golden State. He also matched his career high with three blocks in the Warriors’ ninth straight home win.
C.J. McCollum scored 35 points to lead a Portland team still without Damian Lillard, and the Trail Blazers certainly had to feel better about hanging tough in this one after their forgettable 45-point defeat here 2 1/2 weeks earlier.
Curry shot 12 for 25 on a night Splash Brother Klay Thompson struggled to find his stroke from long range, going 1 of 7 and scoring 14 points. Curry added seven rebounds and five assists.
Coming off a triple-double, Draymond Green had 11 assists, nine points and seven rebounds.
Durant was dominant on both ends, especially during one spectacular sequence late in the first.
He made a pretty driving lay-in and converted a three-point play at the 2:50 mark, blocked two shots in succession moments later – one against McCollum then on Noah Vonleh’s putback try. KD drained a 3-pointer the next time down, and he also had a four-point play in the final minute of the first half.
In other results, Atlanta blasted Orlando, 111-92; Milwaukee edged New York, 105-104; Miami held off Sacramento, 107-102; and the Los Angeles Clippers thwarted the Memphis Grizzlies, 115-106.