Dribbles: Depleted Cavs stun Bulls, and ‘those are the ones you remember’

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 109-95 impressive road win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

1. Well, who would’ve guessed? The Cavs were missing their top four scorers — Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert — along with Sam Merrill, who scored 27 in his last full game. And yet they won. On the road. Over a Bulls team that has been playing well recently.

2. Guess this makes up for that lousy home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers a few weeks ago. Hate to say I told you so. (Actually, I love to say that.)

3. I admit, I didn’t give the Cavs a chance. You probably didn’t either. I knew they’d give it their all. I just didn’t think that would be good enough. Not without their best players.

4. Little did we know that the other guys would play with such grit, such belief, and such resiliency. This was a teamwide win in the truest sense, with everyone lending a hand.

5. The Cavs (17-13) barely have had their starters on the floor at the same time this season. Yet they’re only two wins behind last season’s pace after 30 games. So for all the occasional wailing and gnashing of teeth from fans, the results have remained nearly the same. That’s a real credit to the organization, from the front office on down.

6. Since the news that Garland (jaw) and Mobley (knee) would miss significant time, Cleveland has gone 4-1. And Mitchell has appeared in just two of those games. How’s that for finding a way?

7. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said last week that all the injuries meant others would be getting an opportunity, and it would be up to those others to make the most of it. On Saturday, that’s precisely what happened.

8. Max Strus led the way with 26 points and seven assists. Jarrett Allen was relentless with 19 points and a whopping 17 rebounds (and also seven assists). Rookie Craig Porter Jr. was brilliant with 19 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Along the way, he didn’t force a thing.

9. Isaac Okoro (12 points) and Dean Wade (11) offered invaluable hustle plays and extra grit. Same goes for Tristan Thompson and Georges Niang. Hey, even Emoni Bates hit a 3-pointer. Never once did the Cavs appear rattled, despite Chicago going on a few runs and keeping it close for most of the night.

10. Strus to Bally Sports on the win: “That was awesome. Those are the ones you remember. Everybody’s counting you out. … But everybody came together, everybody stepped up.”

11. Strus was direct when asked how the Cavs were able to pull off the upset. “Craig Porter,” he said. “Craig Porter won that game for us.”

12. How did Porter do it? “Just phenomenal. Always poised, made some big baskets when we needed them, just always making the right play,” Strus told Bally. “He’s gonna have a bright future.”

13. Bickerstaff to reporters: “We did it together. That’s the enjoyable part about it.”

14. He went on to talk about the defense, about how Cavs Lite led by just a point at the half (57-56), and about how they limited the Bulls to 16 points in the third quarter. “It was a phenomenal performance on both ends of the floor and it was a group effort,” Bickerstaff said.

15. Not that it matters at this point, but the Cavs are just a game back of the Orlando Magic for fourth place in the East. I don’t think the Cavs can finish higher than fourth this season. But who knows? If they can steal some road games without their biggest guns … well, anything’s possible.

16. DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 21 points and Nikola Vucevic had 20. Coby White added 17 — but the Bulls (13-18) seemed way out of sorts in the second half. The Cavs had plenty to do with that.

17. Yes, the Bulls have been wildly inconsistent this season. But they entered the night as winners of three straight and four of five. That included road wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, two teams ahead of the Cavs in the East. So now we know what Strus meant when he said that “everybody counted us out.”

18. The Cavs are off until Wednesday, when they visit the Dallas Mavericks. Then they get the Milwaukee Bucks at home. So it’s nice they got this one, and how they got it is even better. Merry Christmas.

Cavs halftime dribbles …

1. The Cavs are missing their top four scorers and Sam Merrill, who had 27 in his last full game. So kudos to them for competing and even being up by a point (57-56).

2. Jarrett Allen has been super aggressive and leading the way. And so far, you have…

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) December 24, 2023