Zach LaVine scored 27 of his 44 points in the first half as the visiting Chicago Bulls benefited from a dominant third quarter to post a 118-106 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.
LaVine made five of his team's 12 3-pointers and added 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Bulls, who defeated the Cavaliers for the second time in as many Saturdays.
LaVine, who was bidding for his first career triple-double performance, recorded 21 of his 42 points in fourth quarter last Saturday as Chicago overcame a late 15-point deficit in a 118-116 victory over Cleveland last weekend.
Tomas Satoransky made 8 of 11 shots to finish with 19 points as the Bulls shot a robust 51.8 percent from the floor (44 of 85) and 36.4 percent from 3-point range (12 of 33).
Kevin Love collected 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who committed 21 turnovers en route to losing their seventh straight contest.
Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman each added 18 points and Larry Nance Jr. chipped in with 15 and 11 rebounds in a losing effort.
Cleveland scored the first seven points of the third before Chicago seized control of the game by igniting a scintillating 40-12 run to take a 99-76 lead at the end of the quarter. LaVine drained a 3-pointer to both begin and end the Bulls' 11-0 run to cap the sequence.
Rookie Darius Garland and Nance combined to score 11 of the Cavaliers' first 13 points in the fourth quarter. Love added a pair of 3-pointers as Cleveland trimmed its deficit to nine at 112-103, but it drew no closer and fell for the 12th time in 14 games.
Garland's 3-pointer staked Cleveland to an 11-point lead at 50-39 at 6:36 of the second quarter before LaVine erupted for 12 points over the next four minutes to trim the deficit to two. Kris Dunn drained a pair of free throws and Thaddeus Young and Satoransky each made a basket as Chicago secured a 59-57 lead at intermission.
--Field Level Media
