It wasn't always pretty, but Cleveland will take it. The Cavaliers rallied from a five-point deficit in the final minute of regulation and sealed the deal over a shorthanded Bulls team missing Derrick Rose late.
At one point during the fourth quarter, ESPN's cameras caught Kyrie Irving wondering if this second game of the 2014-15 regular season mirrored a playoff game.
The Cavaliers' guard, who of course hasn't been to the postseason in his career, can be forgiven for his innocence. Friday's contest against the Chicago Bulls did feel like a playoff game, one Cleveland eventually won, 114-108, in overtime over a shorthanded Bulls club that played from the fourth quarter on without Derrick Rose, but gave Cleveland everything it had.
The Bulls should have won the game in regulation even with Rose leaving due to an ankle injury, but blew a five-point lead with under a minute left. Cleveland seized the opportunity in the extra session, tightening the defense and making enough big plays to survive. It ended it fitting fashion, with backup Tristan Thompson grabbing his 12th offensive rebound of the game and slamming it home to put Cleveland up four with 24 seconds left.
The Cavaliers controlled most of the game, taking a nine-point lead in the second quarter on the strength of LeBron James' shooting and Thompson's rebounding. But they failed to build on that lead in the third quarter, allowing the Bulls to hang around before surrendering a barrage of threes to close the deficit. A triple from reserve Aaron Brooks pulled the Bulls level, and a drive several possessions later gave Chicago the lead.
The game was tight from there. Without Rose, the Bulls hung in there. The game became ragged for several minutes as the referees let the two teams play, a style that ultimately suits Chicago better.
And when the possessions became more important, Hinrich of all people rose to the occasion. After a sloppy James turnover, Hinrich hit a three-pointer from the corner to give the Bulls a lead with under two minutes remaining. Kyrie Irving turned it over himself on the next play and Hinrich stuck another three from the right wing to push Chicago's advantage to five with just over a minute remaining. One possession later, after a Love dunk, Hinrich hit a difficult 20-foot corner jumper in Matthew Dellavedova's face to maintain the advantage.
And yet the Bulls couldn't seal the game. The Cavaliers hit two free throws to cut the lead to three, and then this happened.
That continuation call looked generous, but Irving was already into his gather and thus the call was correct. The ensuing free throw tied the game, which eventually went into overtime when Love missed a game-winning three at the buzzer.
3 things we learned
Despite the win, Cleveland's still a work in progress
The parts all make sense on paper, but until they play in high-stress situations together, they won't add up to a perfect sum. The Cavaliers' offense wasn't nearly as bad as it was in Thursday's shocking loss to the Knicks, but it was still often too stagnant, especially in late-game situations. David Blatt's vaunted Princeton offense hasn't been executed nearly well enough in the first two games, though the Cavaliers hit enough shots to survive in this game.
Defensively, Blatt has the Cavaliers showing hard on pick and rolls like James' Heat, but the five players aren't moving well on a string, leading to openings. Cleveland surrendered too many open three pointers and let point guards get middle with clear lines of sight to see all their options. The defense tightened up late, but it also didn't have to deal with Rose.
No Derrick Rose, big problem
It didn't look like it would be a big problem in this game when Hinrich hit three shots in a row to seemingly seal the game, but it became a huge problem in overtime. Without Rose, the Cavaliers were able to rotate off poorer players and made their traps harder. Hinrich couldn't see over the defense like Rose and Chicago's offensive sets stagnated.
It's obviously a huge problem if Rose misses any time with the ankle injury. He played through it during the third quarter, but the team decided the second game of the season wasn't worth pushing it. Here's hoping it's not serious.
Tristan Thompson's agent should be thrilled
If there's such thing as a "contract game," that was it. On the eve of the Oct. 31 deadline for contract extensions for the 2011 NBA Draft class , Thompson attacked the offensive glass with incredible vigor, snagging 11 in the game. None were bigger than his rebound and dunk to seal Cleveland's win with 24 seconds left.
The Bulls' overload defense occasionally opens offensive rebound positioning, but usually closes it quickly because of their size and teamwork. That didn't work on Thompson, though, who responded to the Bulls leaving him by rooting out position underneath and beating Bulls players to the ball with quick jumping. His ability to generate second-chance points saved Cleveland multiple times even before the game-sealing slam.