NBA Playoffs News: Cleveland Cavaliers Crush Chicago Bulls To Reach Eastern Conference Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame Kyrie Irving’s knee injury and LeBron James’ offensive woes to beat the Chicago Bulls 94-73 at home and advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2009. They will face the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Washington Wizards matchup, with the Hawks leading 3-2.

Irving exited the game in the second quarter after twisting his already sore left knee and didn’t return. He had six points in 12 minutes before his departure. Adding to Cleveland’s problems were LeBron James’ shooting woes, as he shot just seven of 23 for 15 points, to go with 11 rebounds and nine assists. He missed all four of his attempts from outside the arc.

Despite the troubles with their two superstars, the Cavaliers still beat the Bulls comfortably. Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose combined for 18 points in the first quarter but were completely irrelevant for the rest of the game. Gasol did not score after the first quarter while Rose added just four more to his first quarter haul of 10 points, with nobody else stepping up. Joakim Noah had just four points in two attempts in 35 minutes of action while Jimmy Butler shot eight of 22 for 20 points in 44 minutes of action for the woeful Bulls.

For the Cavaliers, meanwhile, Tristan Thompson had 13 points and 17 rebounds while Iman Shumpert pitched in with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Matthew Dellavedova came up big on a night when he was often left open as he seven of 11 for 19 points. The Cavs bench outscored the Bulls’ bench 40-20.

"I do everything for my team, do everything for my teammates. I want these guys to be able to feel this moment. That's what I came back here for. I've got four guys that never made the postseason that played a huge role on this team," LeBron James said after the match to ESPN, appreciating the efforts of his teammates.

Email karthik17g.b@gmail.com to contact author of this article.