Cavaliers in ‘bad spot’ after Bulls sweep
Cleveland slump to third consecutive defeat as Chicago move to within one game of play-off spot
>> CHICAGO: LeBron James says the reigning NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers are “in a bad spot” after losing their third consecutive game, falling 99-93 on Thursday at Chicago.
The Bulls completed a 4-0 regularseason sweep of Cleveland, boosting their chances of reaching the play-offs and dropping the Cavaliers (47-27) behind Boston (48-27) at the top of the Eastern Conference.
“We’re in a bad spot right now,” James said. “Not disappointed with the effort. Just in a bad spot. Got to try to figure it out... we’ve got some work to do and we don’t have a lot of time.”
The Bulls (36-39) moved within one game of Miami and Indiana for the last two play-off spots in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining over the next two weeks.
“We need them all,” Chicago star Jimmy Butler said. “That’s what we talk about. We’ve got to have these.”
Nikola Mirotic, a Montenegrinborn Spaniard, scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Chicago.
“I just want to finish strong at the end of the season and help us get into the play-offs,” Mirotic said.
Butler added 25 points for the Bulls, who used defensive effort to close the third quarter on a crucial 11-3 run.
“We got back i n transition,” Butler said.
“It always helps to make shots but we guarded. That’s how we’ve got to play. We’ve got to rely on our defence.”
James sparked Cleveland with 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Kyrie Irving added 20 for the Cavaliers, who were without forwards Kyle Korver and Richard Jefferson due to sore left knees.
James passed Shaquille O’Neal for seventh on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, ending the game with 28,599 career points, three more than “Shaq.”
Damian Lillard scored 31 points to lead six double-figure scorers in Portland’s 117-107 home victory over Houston.
The Trail Blazers (37-38) won their fifth consecutive game and moved 1½ games ahead of Denver in the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
“We did a great job of executing down the stretch,” Lillard said.
“We trusted each other. We kept the ball moving. We showed poise. We had confidence and we did what we needed to get the win.”
James Harden, who led Houston with 30 points, sank a three-pointer late in the first quarter to give the Rockets an NBA record 1,078th three-pointer this season, breaking the old one-season mark set last season by Golden State.
Marcus Morris scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons snapped a five-game losing streak with a 90-89 home victory over the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets (16-59).
“We barely got this one,” Morris said. “To finally just get one, hopefully it can lead to more.”
At 35-41, the Pistons are 2½ games behind Miami and Indiana in the play-off hunt.
“Anything we can do to get a win at this point is good and make one more little push,” said Ish Smith, who had 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.