CHICAGO, Ohio (AP) – LeBron James struggled to score 15 points, Kyrie Irving limped off the court and the Cavaliers still beat the Chicago Bulls 94-73 on Thursday night to clinch their Eastern Conference semifinal series in six games.
Matthew Dellavedova scored 19 points and Tristan Thompson added 13 points and 17 rebounds to help the Cavaliers advance to the conference final for the first time since 2009 even though their superstar played like a mere mortal and their All-Star point guard hobbled to the locker room in the first half.
Despite all that, Cleveland is right where it expected to be after James decided to come home from Miami and return to his first team. The Cavaliers didn’t expect to get there like this, though — with Kevin Love suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in the opening round and Irving trying to gut through problems with both legs.
The Bulls shot under 38 percent from the field and scored just 29 points over the second and third quarters. Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 20 points and Derrick Rose added 14, but no other Bull had more than eight.
The Cavaliers next face either Atlanta or Washington.