CLEVELAND _ LeBron James gave a valiant effort on a night neither Kyrie Irving nor Kevin Love were physically able to play.
But Jimmy Butler followed his magnificent performance Monday with a terrific fourth quarter in the Chicago Bulls' 106-94 victory Wednesday over the Cavaliers.
Butler scored 20 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, two nights after he scored 52 against the Charlotte Hornets.
James scored 31 points, grabbed eight rebounds and passed for seven assists while playing 37 minutes despite battling the same bug that plagued Channing Frye for the last week. James went home with a bag full of medicine after Monday night's game and missed the morning shootaround Wednesday. The team told him to stay home and rest. It wasn't announced he would indeed play until minutes prior to tip-off.
He seemed lethargic at various turns throughout the night. James staggered off the floor after landing awkwardly on his left ankle with three minutes remaining in the third quarter and the Cavs trailing by 13. But the bench pulled the Cavs within 88-84 when James returned with 8:49 to play in the game.
James scored on consecutive drives to the basket upon returning and his third drive, which would've given the Cavs the lead, was waived off because he was whistled for a charge after running over Butler.
Butler responded with his third 3-pointer of the night and a turnaround jumper _ all part of a stretch when he scored 10 in a row for Chicago _ to extend the lead to 96-88. The Bulls made a season-high 13 3-pointers after starting the game 1-of-8 from deep in the first quarter.
Irving missed his third game with a right hamstring injury and Love is still feeling the effects of food poisoning he contracted on a New Year's Eve flight home following a game at Charlotte. Love lost at least 10 pounds as a result and Lue said his conditioned worsened in the 48 hours since he played 24 lethargic minutes against New Orleans Monday. He remains hopeful Love can play Friday at Brooklyn.
"He couldn't keep food down," Lue said. "I think he got weaker and not being (able) to keep the fluids and the food down, and not being able to catch back up with his weight right now, (the medical staff) just thought it'd be better just to try and get another day and come back and be ready to go Friday."
In perhaps a bit of gamesmanship, both James and Dwyane Wade were considered questionable at the start of the night. Neither team announced they were playing until close to tip-off, and both announcements came within minutes of the other.
Wade, battling a sore knee, scored 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Doug McDermott scored 15 of his 17 points in the third quarter for the Bulls, who have won both meetings against the Cavs this season.
The Cavs had won their last 13 games with James in the lineup. The last time they lost with him on the floor, prior to Thursday, was Dec. 2 at United Center against these same Bulls.
