Cavs race past Bulls, officially clinch top seed in East

What seemed like a formality over the past week is now official. The Cleveland Cavaliers have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

It came courtesy of a 135-113 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. Now, regardless of who the Cavaliers face in the postseason, they will have home-court advantage.

The Cavs (63-16) have three games remaining — at Indiana on Thursday, at New York on Friday, and at home vs. the Pacers on Sunday in the regular-season finale. The playoffs begin the following weekend and the Cavs will open either Saturday (April 19) or Sunday (April 20) at Rocket Arena.

As for this game, the Cavs built a 27-point lead and were rarely threatened despite missing Donovan Mitchell — who sat out with a left ankle tweak, suffered in Sunday’s game against Sacramento.

Darius Garland led the way with 28 points, followed by Evan Mobley, who finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

“Feels good, especially to win at home,” Garland told FanDuel Sports Network, before addressing the crowd. “Ya’all just enjoy the ride. We’re gonna be here for a long time.”