By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Cleveland Cavaliers just claimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference heading to the playoffs after hosting a demolition exhibition on the Chicago Bulls, 135-113, in the NBA regular season on April 9, 2025.
Despite three games left in the regular season, the Cavaliers will still stay safe as the No. 1 seed even if they lose against the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. The Boston Celtics are trailing at the no. 2 spot but are four wins behind Cleveland with a record of 59 wins and 20 losses.
The Cavaliers quickly turned things up from the get-go and were laser-focused on grabbing home- court advantage throughout the whole playoff stage.
Even without their main star, Donovan Mitchell, who is still nursing a left ankle sprain injury, Cleveland still has plenty of firepower left as the quartet of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Ty Jerome, and De’Andre Hunter joined hands to submerge the Bulls.
Garland sparked Cleveland’s early run after driving at will inside Chicago’s loose interior, followed by Mobley’s paint dominance that helped them pull away midway through the second frame.
From trailing by three points in the opener, the Cavaliers suddenly caught fire in the next period, outscoring Chicago, 43-24, led by Mobley who was feasting inside the shaded lane.
After Cleveland’s 19-point edge in the second, the team just steamrolled their way into the game, led by Jerome and Hunter’s waxing-hot shooting from the three-point line.
Although the Bulls received some lift from their star rookie Matas Buzelis, the Cavalier’s collective effort proved to be too much to handle with such a high stake on the table.
Garland top-scored all players with 28 points built from an efficient 10/17 shooting from the field including six made three-pointers. Aside from his offensive outburst, the shifty guard also tallied five assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
Meanwhile, Mobley chipped in 21 markers in just 29 minutes and capped off the win with another double-double stat line of 12 boards, seven dimes, two steals, and a block.
The duo of Jerome and Hunter added 18 and 17 points, respectively, while veteran center Jarrett Allen stuffed the stat sheets with 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Cleveland will resume their NBA campaign on April 11, 2025, against the Indiana Pacers while the Bulls look to maintain their NBA Play-In inclusion today, against the Miami Heat.
