The Cleveland Cavaliers have become very good at making opponents look very bad. None looked worse than the Chicago Bulls.
Unable to counter the Cavaliers' slow-down offense, stifling defense and aggressive rebounding, the Bulls set a franchise record-low for points and were booed off their home court in Monday night's 77-63 loss."We're not trying to keep a team under their franchise-record scoring. We're just doing what we have to do to win," said Tyrone Hill, who had 16 points and 17 rebounds in Cleveland's sixth straight victory.
The crowd of 22,301 fans reacted angrily as the Bulls shot 37 percent from the field, 42 percent from the foul line and 17 percent from 3-point range.
Cleveland is not overly talented, either. On Monday, the Cavaliers weren't even healthy. Mark Price (rib injury) and Tony Campbell (stomach virus) missed the game. Chris Mills arrived shortly before tip-off after getting treated for a virus. Brad Daugherty and Gerald Wilkins are out all season with injuries.
John Williams had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs. Scottie Pippen led the Bulls with 14 points.
Suns 113, Bullets 102
Rookie Wesley Person scored 10 of his 12 points in the first 51/2 minutes of the fourth quarter as the Suns won their seventh straight game and improved to 12-0 at home.
Nuggets 104, Celtics 85
At Denver, reserve Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 27 points as the Nuggets defeated cold-shooting Boston.