CLEVELAND _ The Cavaliers starting unit lacked its rhythm. The Cavs bench was without its coach, with Tyronn Lue falling ill before the game and Larry Drew taking over.
Cavs shooting guard J.R. Smith was sidelined with a sore left knee. Channing Frye filled his spot in the lineup and started at center, with Kevin Love moving to his natural spot at power forward.
All the movement, coupled with a Chicago Bulls team that entered with a seven-game winning streak, made for a harried Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Cavs' rock LeBron James scored 11 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter, including a crucial fallaway jumper with 1:01 remaining, and the Cavs pulled out a 115-112 victory.
The game included 26 lead changes.
The Bulls' Denzel Valentine drove for an uncontested layup to cut the Cavs' lead to 113-112 with 14.3 seconds to go, but James countered with two free throws with 11.1 seconds remaining. After a Chicago timeout, Dwyane Wade blocked Kris Dunn's 27-footer and Denzel Valentine's prayer heave while guarded by Jae Crowder wasn't close.
Playing in his franchise-record 800th game, James scored 30 or more points for the 14th time this season. He added six rebounds, nine assists and three steals.
Kevin Love followed with 27 points and seven rebounds. Kyle Korver followed up a 1 for 7 shooting effort in Milwaukee Tuesday by going 5 for 7, including 4 of 6 beyond the arc, in scoring 15.
Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls (10-21) with 25 points, and Valentine had 18.
Winners of 12 in a row at home, the Cavs (24-9) improved to 19-2 since Nov. 11. They are 3-0 against the Bulls this season.
The Cavs offense seemed disjointed in the first half. Some of that could have been Smith's absence, and another issue may have been frustration with the officiating crew. Tristan Thompson complained that he was being held from a rebound put-back and was told by the ref it wasn't his call, so he sought out another. Love wasn't happy with his offensive foul on Markkanen and a foul on Crowder against Markkanen seemed questionable.
Late in the third quarter, Crowder was called for a foul when it appeared Robin Lopez pushed him down with his left arm on a move to the basket.
Jeff Green hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter and give the Cavs an 82-79 lead.
The Cavs jumped out to a 10-3 lead, but the Bulls quickly recovered to tie the game. The Cavs opened the biggest margin of the first half at 56-48, but five points by Markkanen on a running dunk and an and-one, and a 3-pointer by Nikola Mirotic tied the score.
The Cavs knew the Bulls would be more formidable than the team they faced the first two times this season, both Cavs victories. Mirotic returned after suffering a concussion and maxillary fractures on Dec. 8 and the Bulls hadn't lost since. Bobby Portis was suspended for the team's first eight games for the punching Mirotic in the face two days before the season opener. Markkanen missed two games with back spasms.
"Just having a full team, I think they complement each other very well and they've been playing good ball as of late," James said. "Mirotic, Bobby Portis coming back, and all the other guys are starting to get more and more comfortable. The rook Markkanen was out for a couple games, but now he's back playing well. We've got to be ready for their attack.
"We look forward to this matchup. They've been playing really well and they feel really good about where they're at. We look for forward to this division rivalry game. Not much of a rivalry, but division opponent."
Lue, feeling well enough to speak pregame, said Dunn had also been a key in the Bulls' winning streak.
"They're letting him play and he's getting a chance to be aggressive and be who he is as a player. (That) has really helped him and helped the team also," Lue said. "Lopez is a load, we already know that, great passer, they run their offense through him, a load on the offensive glass and posting up. I think with Dunn, Mirotic and Portis, they've really been playing well. Dunn has a lot of confidence right now."
