The Chicago Bulls handled the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center, throttling the visitors to a 127-111 tune on Wednesday night.

The nearly full-strength Chicago Bulls took advantage of the injury-riddled Cleveland Cavaliers in Chicago, winning by a final score of 127-111 on Wednesday night. Josh Giddey led the way with his sixth triple-double of the season, and Coby White chipped in 25 points in the surprisingly easy win.

Withstanding the Slow Start

Per usual, the Bulls’ starters came out of the gate slowly and were down 12 points in the first quarter. After a timeout, the Bulls went to a 2-3 zone, spearheaded by Tre Jones’ seven assists and three steals in the half. At halftime, the score was 62-58 in favor of the Bulls.

This play set the tone as Jones’ hustle steal led to a Giddey three-pointer (five threes made for the night) going into the half.

Story continues below.

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The third quarter was where the Bulls put the game out of reach. A 17-2 run woke up the previously sleepy United Center crowd, and the Bulls maintained almost a double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter. In the end, it was an easy win for the home team.

Bulls Win Backcourt Duel

When oddsmakers made the Cavs a 5.5-point favorite, they likely looked to star guards Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell as the catalysts. While Mitchell scored 32, Garland was held to 16 points. Meanwhile, Giddey (23-11-11) played a marvelous stat-accumulating game. Along with White, the Bulls were carried by their potential backcourt of the future.

Depth Was a Huge Advantage

The Bulls bench had a 39-27 scoring advantage, but plus-minus shows more impact than that:

Tre Jones: +20, 11 points, 11 assists, three steals

Jalen Smith/Zach Collins: +15 combined, 14 points, 11 rebounds between the two.

Meanwhile, beyond DeAndre Hunter (12 points), no one on the Cavs cracked double-digit scoring. Lonzo Ball particularly struggled against the more active Bulls, as Cleveland’s depth made a negative impact.

Coach Billy Donovan Adjusts

Donovan has caught a lot of flak from fans, but his rotational adjustments were on point. Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips were nowhere to be seen, and Patrick Williams now seems to be the tenth man.

A 2-3 zone was initiated for a change, leading to active defensive sequences like this one:

Note the length in the bottom of the zone, and Kevin Huerter and Jones flying around the perimeter. It was a refreshing change, and paid off in short doses.

The big change, though, was Zach Collins and Jalen Smith sharing the court at the same time. Per KC Johnson of CHSN, this will become more of the norm, at the likely expense of Nikola Vucevic minutes. Collins and Smith added some much needed physicality inside, even if they failed to block a shot between them. The rebounding and physical presence, especially with the Cavaliers missing Evan Mobley and Larry Nance with calf injuries.

Notes:

Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls with three screen assists on the night. Vucevic was effective throughout, scoring 20 points and was notable activity on defense.

Turnovers were a key to the win. Chicago forced 20 turnovers and had only 15 themselves. Josh Giddey and Coby White led the team with three apiece.

Chicago scored 68 points in the paint compared to 52 by Cleveland.