Bulls' Defense Lifts Them To Win Over Cavaliers

For all the talk about their fast-paced offense, defense once again lifted the Chicago Bulls in their season opener.

Pau Gasol's block of LeBron James and a pass deflection in the closing seconds helped preserve the win for new coach Fred Hoiberg. And that had to please the president.

Nikola Mirotic scored 19 points and Derrick Rose added 18 to lead the Bulls to a 97-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers with President Barack Obama watching on Tuesday night.

After Gasol blocked James' potential tying layup in the closing seconds, Jimmy Butler then broke up an inbounds pass intended for James as time expired.

Obama sat courtside for most of the game as his beloved Bulls got contributions from a variety of players to knock off the defending Eastern Conference champions and give Hoiberg a narrow win in his first game.

"That is how we are going to win every game," Rose said. "It kind of feels good going into every game knowing you have the possibility of winning. You have a chance of winning every game because we are so good and deep."

James scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but the Cavaliers came up short against the team they knocked out in the conference semifinals last season.

Tuesday, October 27 Scoreboard

Detroit 106, Atlanta 94

Chicago 97, Cleveland 95

Golden State 111, New Orleans 95

Wednesday, October 28 Schedule (All Times Central)

Washington at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Philadelphia at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Chicago at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Utah at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

Indiana at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Denver at Houston, 7 p.m.

Cleveland at Memphis, 7 p.m.

New York at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Dallas at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

New Orleans at Portland, 9 p.m.

Los Angeles at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Minnesota at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.