Tonight was the first glimpse of what should be a great Eastern Conference rivalry this year. United by season openers against the Knicks and championship aspirations, the Bulls and the Cavaliers faced off for Friday's main matchup.
Cleveland came out on top, but—as you can guess by the fact that the game took an extra quarter—it wasn't easy. The Cavs led for the majority of the game while the Bulls stayed within single digits. The first half ended with the Cavaliers ahead 58-52, and LeBron James leaving an extremely needy but open Dion Waiters hanging before halftime.
The battle continued in the second half and toward the end of regulation. The Bulls finally took the lead late in the fourth quarter, but some crucial fouls and a three-point play conversion by Kyrie Irving sent the game into overtime.
It was there when Tristan Thompson got his shine. After already grabbing a crazy 11 offensive rebounds, Thompson delivered a put back in the final seconds to help put away the game. This came from a James miss, but at least he didn't play as bad as he did with the Knicks. The King put up 36 points.
