3 Takeaways & Player Grades: Bulls 127, Cavaliers 111

The Chicago Bulls pulled off the much-needed upset on Wednesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Let's talk about what went right ... for once!

3 Takeaways

Bench Mob Returns

The Chicago Bulls looked happy to be healthy. With the Cleveland Cavaliers off to an early lead, head coach Billy Donovan turned to his bench a little early. At the 7:29 mark, both Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins subbed into the game. A couple of minutes later, it was time for Jalen Smith and Tre Jones to join them. From there, the Bulls proceeded to go on a 10-0 run to cut the Cavs' lead to 28-26.

The rest of the quarter provided a very familiar feeling, as the second unit's hustle completely shifted the momentum of the game. Right on cue, the Bulls would take the lead after Huerter drained a three right before Jalen Smith followed that up with a baseline drive and finish. The Bulls ended the first quarter with a 14-2 advantage in bench points.

Tre Jones, in particular, proved to be one of the biggest difference-makers early on. He started the second quarter by dishing an assist to Okoro before ending up at the free throw line on the next possession. Following that came a steal and a fastbreak opportunity. While he missed the layup, Smith trailed behind for the putback.

Jones finished the first half as a +19 with 5 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals. It was his final steal of the half that set up the Josh Giddey three that gave Chicago their 62-58 halftime advantage.

Coming out of the locker room, the Bulls starters were now in lockstep with their reserve teammates. They looked thrilled to have the lead and shockingly confident that they could hold onto it. The team we saw over the next 24 minutes looked very much like the team that started the season 6-1. And, again, they have their depth to thank for that.

For what it's worth, this was something we mentioned in our matchup notes. A big reason why the Bulls kept things close in their first meeting with Cleveland was their depth. The Cavaliers average the second-fewest bench points per game, while the Bulls average the second-most. They were going to have to take advantage of the minutes that Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland were not on the floor. To their credit, they did that.

Taking Advantage of No Evan Mobley

With one of the best defenders in the NBA stuck in street clothes, the Chicago Bulls took full advantage. They were blowing by the Cavs' frontcourt and feasting at the rim. Their 68 points in the paint were the fourth-most in any game this season. Coby White deserves a big tip of the cap for his aggressive downhill mentality, as he went 4-5 at the rim and 6-7 at the free-throw line.

The Bulls as a whole finished 29-36 in the restricted area, and the Cavs only recorded 3 blocks or fewer for the fifth time this season. They created tons of open looks inside thanks to their transition hustle, strong off-ball movement, and unselfish passing. It's ultimately why they shot a season-high 56.2 percent from the field.

Hustle Stats

While the offense was humming, this was arguably the Bulls' most well-rounded game of the season. They shockingly ended up dominating the hustle stats. Not only did they finish with a 68-52 advantage in points in the paint, but they were ahead 25-14 in fastbreak points and 12-8 in second-chance points.

Cleveland came into the evening fifth in offensive rebounds per game and 11th in second-chance points. They also beat the Bulls in this department 12-4 in their first meeting this season.

Chicago even had the lead in the points off turnovers department for most of the night! They forced Cleveland into 20 turnovers, scoring 21 points off those mistakes. While the Cavs would finish with 22 points of the Bulls' 16 turnovers, this unusually productive defensive showing proved to be a big reason why the game went the way it did.