Bulls beat injured Cavs in Game 1

The Chicago Bulls won Game 1 of their 2015 Eastern Conference semifinals series over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-92, at Quicken Loans Arena. Chicago, which came into the series as a slight favorite against Cleveland, was able to steal the all-important opener behind terrific performances by Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler.

All told, Butler and Rose combined for 45 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, all while Butler played his typically stifling defense. Rose was torched by Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving, who led all scorers with 30 points. LeBron James was dominant but could not overwhelm the Bulls into a loss, scoring 19 points with 15 rebounds and nine assists in defeat.

Without Kevin Love on the interior, Cleveland was taken apart in the paint. The Cavaliers had to rely heavily on Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov in Love’s absence, but the duo could not deliver. Thompson and Mozgov combined to play 63 minutes and only accounted for 13 points and 13 rebounds, an effort that helped to leave the Cavaliers in a 1-0 hole.

While Joakim Noah did not score in 29 minutes (but played his belligerent style of defense), Pau Gasol went to work on the block. The future Hall-of-Fame Spaniard notched 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking four shots. If Gasol continues to have his way inside, Cleveland might be looking at the business end of a quick series.

In the NBA playoffs, home-court advantage is massive. Teams rarely lose Game 7’s in their own building, forcing the lower seed to try and win in six games or less. By stealing Game 1 on the road, Chicago can now do exactly that without winning another game away from United Center. However, the Bulls have not been unbeatable at the Madhouse on Madison by any metric in 2014-15, going 27-14 in the regular season before blowing a potential series-clinching Game 5 to the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

For all intents and purposes, the Cavaliers must win Game 2. If they can’t, the series heads back to Chicago with the Bulls holding an almost insurmountable 2-0 lead. Cleveland will again be without Love but also swingman JR Smith, who is serving a two-game suspension for an altercation in Game 4 of the Cavaliers’ four-game sweep of the Boston Celtics. Smith will be eligible for return in Game 3.

For years, Chicago has been the injured team limping through the playoffs until somebody put them to bed. This time around, the Bulls are finally healthy at the right time with a talented opponent trying to make up for a battered lineup. Chicago has not been to the NBA Finals since Michael Jordan and Co. went and won in 1998 over the Utah Jazz. Should they beat Cleveland, the Bulls would be a heavy favorite to defeat either the Atlanta Hawks or Washington Wizards.

This series is far, far from over. But the Cavaliers better win Game 2.