CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 31: Caris LeVert #3 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates with Robin Lopez #33 and Cedi Osman #16 against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center on December 31, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' stingy defense withstood the Chicago Bulls' late run and ended 2022 with a 103-102 victory. The Cavs ended a three-game losing streak and overcame absences of starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley due to injury. The Cavs improve to 23-14 and remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, while the Bulls drop to 16-20 and stay in 10th place.
Caris Levert scored a game-high 23 points while Kevin Love followed with 20. Jarrett Allen secured 10 rebounds, including four offensive. Donovan Mitchell went 5-16 from the field for 15 points, but had a game-high six assists. Cedi Osman and Isaac Okoro paced the bench with 12 points and 11 points, respectively.
Down 36-33 in the second quarter, the Cavs went on a 13-0 run in the second quarter for a double-digit lead, and led by as many as 12 points in the first half. Cleveland also had a 9-0 run in the third quarter for a 77-66 lead, and led by as many as 14 points in the second half. The Cavs out-rebounded Chicago 50-40, collected six more assists, 20-14, and made 13 three-point shots to the Bulls' seven. However, the Cavs committed 21 turnovers to the Bulls' 15, and had fewer steals than the Bulls, 15-9.
For Chicago, DeMar Derozan scored a team-high 21 points while Ayo Dosunmu scored 19. Four Bulls starters scored double-digits including Nikola Vucevic, who recorded a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
With two minutes remaining, Caris LeVert made a two-point shot for a 103-96 lead, but the Bulls scored six straight points to pull within one point. The Cavs committed a 24-second violation and had to defend for the final five seconds, but forced DeMar Derozan to miss the final shot, and hung on for the victory.
The Cavs are 2-0 this season against the Bulls and won both regular season meetings in Chicago. After a day off, these teams will meet again and open the new year on Monday at 7:00 PM in Cleveland.