Cleveland home, attended

The best game of the year for the Bulls and I had the good fortune to be there, in a very nice box, and I'm grateful for getting the opportunity.

First off, we won because we played some defense and LeBron was off his game a bit. Yes, it is harsh to look at a 28pt, 14rb, 7 assist line and say the guy was off, but hey, this is LeBron and he really was. He usually drops 40 on the Bulls without breaking a sweat. We made him work this game and even frustrated him a bit at times. He had 8 turnovers and missed a shot that would have won it in regulation.

Hinrich and Deng were not perfect, but they both had solid outings for the second game in a row. If you toss out 4 stupid turnovers, Deng had his best game of the year. He continued to use better judgement with his job selection. Hinrich played excellent defense and was 3-4 from behind the arc, including a huge one in overtime. Tyrus also had a very good game, being active on both ends of the court. Hughes, Gray, and Hunter all got DNP and I think this is clearly the trend for the Bulls, at least until they start losing again.

Once again, Rose was standout at the end. He did miss two big free throws, but then made two huge ones later to get us into OT. Earlier in the game, his shot wasn't dropping and he was getting schooled on defense, but he turned that around with another outstanding end run.

It's a huge lift for the Bulls to beat Cleveland, who are clearly a lot better than them this year. When you think about the Bulls falling to the Thunder just a few games back at home, they've made a huge turnaround in a short time. I'm not convinced they've turned the corner for good, but this is a very sweet victory to savor for now.