East Notes: Cavs, Kevin Love, Bulls, Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton

Cavaliers

Power forward Kevin Love got the start in place of the injured Evan Mobley and delivered with 20 points and nine rebounds in the Cavaliers’ narrow road win over the Bulls on Saturday.

“We did everything we could to lose that game, but we just have to survive and advance,” Love told reporters. “It felt like March Madness tonight. Really ugly game, but again, we have to win ugly sometimes and we’re thankful we did that.”

The Cavs were also without point guard Darius Garland, but veteran guard/forward Caris LeVert helped fill the void with a team-high 23 points. But the Cavs’ three-game skid wasn’t snapped until Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan missed from the wing at the final buzzer.

Both LeVert and Donovan Mitchell were in DeRozan’s face, and on a night in which the Cavs committed 20 turnovers, they needed all the defense they could muster.

“We know we can get stops,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

• Prior to Saturday’s win, the Cavs had lost five of their previous road games. So yes, they needed this one.
• The teams meet again Monday in Cleveland. No word yet on the availability of Garland or Mobley.

Bulls

Guard Zach LaVine indicated he’s feeling much better lately after battling injury issues for much of last season and early in this one.

“I’ve been for a while,” he said, via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “Go look at my last 10, 15 games. I’ve been saying that. I’ve been feeling good.”

• Coach Billy Donovan wasn’t too distraught despite Saturday’s loss to the Cavs. “We got a defensive stop late to give ourselves a chance, but certainly the first 47 (minutes) was like a grind for us,” he told reporters. “But I think our guys battled through it and tried the best they could.”

Pacers

Point guard Tyrese Haliburton said the Pacers heard the skeptics at the beginning of the season and it appears they may be using it as motivation for their surprising first half.

“There’s a lot of trust in me in this organization,” Haliburton said. “We’re learning how to finish games. We’ve got a lot of firepower. This is what we do. They picked us last in the East. We’re coming out here and proving people wrong.”

• The Pacers recently engaged the Knicks in trade talks centered on New York power forward Obi Toppin, as relayed by Mark Nilon of Heavy Sports.