Cavs dig deep, survive the chaos, rally to overtake Bulls

Sometimes you take the Bull by the horns and sometimes you just survive the stampede.

The Cavaliers did both Saturday night.

They were down 19 in the first half. Donovan Mitchell had one basket. Later, it looked like the Cavs made their run … and that’d be it. Almost like one of those “close but nah” nights. It felt like one of those home games where the story gets written early and never truly flips.

Then they flipped it.

Eventually, the Cavs beat Chicago, 128-122, and honestly, it felt like they just kept digging even when the tank said empty.

Mitchell woke up late — scoring 26 points in the second half, 13 in the fourth. Jaylon Tyson gave them that fearless spark. De’Andre Hunter and Evan Mobley kept finding ways to create one-on-one when everything else tightened up.

Mobley: 24 points, eight boards, five assists.
Hunter: 29.
Tyson: 17, including the final free throws that basically ended it.
Mitchell: 29 total. Again, 26 after halftime.

The Bulls (6-3) pushed. They got downhill. They lived at the line. The Cavs (7-3) were in the penalty before you could exhale. And this was the second night of a back-to-back, and this time, without Darius Garland (injury management).

And still, they closed.

There are nights when the offense hums. There are nights like this — where it’s just survival and stops and timely buckets and leaning on your best players when everything else is choppy.

These are the nights where a win feels a little heavier because you had to work for it and overcome it.

But it was a playoff-style win in early November. For the Cavs, these are good lessons for way down the road, when the games matter most.