CLEVELAND: Sooner or later, the Cavaliers will make the psychological breakthrough of winning a game without their leader, LeBron James.
As the numbers of futility mount, the task could seem more daunting with every loss.
But with James sitting out Saturday’s nationally televised game because of what ABC reported as strep throat, there were reasons to feel positive.
Coming in, the Cavs boasted an 8-1 record in February and were the winners of four consecutive games. They acquired 3-point sharpshooter Kyle Korver in a January trade and are on the verge of signing ex-Dallas Maverick Deron Williams to be their backup point guard. Against the Bulls, Kyrie Irving ran his string of 20-point games to eight in a row.
Even with those positive vibes, the Cavs still couldn’t win without their king on the court, falling 117-99 at Quicken Loans Arena.
They slipped to 4-19 since the start of the 2014-15 season without the four-time league MVP. That string includes 0-4 this season and 0-7 since their last James-less victory, that coming over Dallas in March.
The Cavs also saw Korver limp into the locker room with 2:59 to play after he landed on his knee under the Bulls’ basket after fouling Jimmy Butler.
With Dwyane Wade leading the way with 20 points and Butler contributing 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the third triple-double of his career, the Bulls won their fourth consecutive game and improved to 3-0 against the Cavs this season.
The Cavs have lost six games at the Q in 2016-17, two to the Bulls. The Cavs saw a string of six consecutive home victories snapped, a stretch that was their second-longest of the season.
Irving did all he could, extending his 20-point streak by halftime and finishing with 34 points, nine rebounds and seven assists despite shooting 2-of-10 from 3-point range.
Korver continued his hot shooting, improving to 56-of-90 from the field and 40-of-64 from 3-point range in February. He had four more from long range, moving past Vince Carter and Jamal Crawford into fifth on the NBA’s all-time career list with 2,014.
Korver finished with 14 points, hitting 5-of-8 field goals and 4-of-7 from deep. James Jones contributed 14 points, making 4-of-5 from long range. But Channing Frye went 4-of-11 from the field and Iman Shumpert was 2-of-8 The Cavs also committed 12 turnovers that led to 18 Bulls points.
At morning shootaround, the Cavs’ Derrick Williams thought the Bulls might be tired coming off an overtime victory at home against the Phoenix Suns Friday, while the Cavs played on Thursday.
With the team since Feb. 9, Williams already seemed aware of the Cavs’ lack of success without James. The Cavs are also missing two other starters — Kevin Love (arthroscopic knee surgery) and J.R. Smith (thumb surgery).
“He’s one of the best players to ever play, [so] anytime you have a force like that and he’s questionable, it’s a collective effort,” Williams said of James. “With him and K-Love, that’s 45 points, 20 rebounds, 10-12 assists. We want to play hard. With the overtime game they had last night, we want to try and bring out the energy.”
The best intentions were there, but the Cavs opened the game shooting 3-of-12 from the field. While they fought back to lead 56-55 at halftime, Butler’s surge helped Chicago open an 87-76 lead after three quarters.