Bulls vs Cavaliers NBA Odds featuring DeMar DeRozan & Donovan Mitchell rivalry

The first game of an NBA doubleheader on ESPN Wednesday is the last game before the All-Star break for the Bulls and Cavaliers as the Central Division rivals meet in Cleveland with the home side a solid favorite on the NBA odds. 2024 NBA Expert Analysis Chicago vs Cleveland | MyBookie Sportsbook NBA Week 17

How to Bet Bulls at Cavaliers NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Cavs -9.5 (total 224.5)

Bulls vs Cavaliers Season Series

The Cavs lead 2-0 and won both easily. They last met on Jan. 15 in Cleveland and the final score was 109-91. Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points, Jarrett Allen had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Caris LeVert added 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Coby White made two free throws early in the fourth quarter to put Chicago in front for the only time at 81-80, capping a 28-6 run that began after Cleveland went up 74-53 in the third. The Cavaliers immediately answered with 10 straight points, five by Mitchell on drives to the basket, and closed out the game with a 29-10 surge. Cleveland made 20 3-pointers in a franchise-record 57 attempts. The Cavs have won six straight in the series.

Why Bet on Chicago Bulls?

The Bulls were 136-126 minor upset winners in Atlanta on Monday despite playing without the injured Patrick Williams, who has been out a while, and Alex Caruso – he might play in this one. Ayo Dosunmu had one of the best games of his career with a career-high 29 points along with seven rebounds. He had 10 of the Bulls’ last 17 points of the second quarter to grab a one-point lead at the break.

“We didn’t start the game great, but Ayo’s pace and tempo in that second quarter really got us back in the game,” agreed Bulls coach Billy Donovan. “He was downhill. Whether it was him knocking down threes or getting to the rim, he did a lot of good things tonight. It was a two-way performance by him (with his defense on All-Star — seriously? — Trae Young, who shot 3-of-14 and 2-of-10 on threes).”

The Bulls then mostly controlled the second half, leading the last 20 minutes of the game and finally extending their lead to double digits with four minutes left in the game. Dosunmu matched his career-high of threes with five set the last game in Orlando and now his last 14 games is averaging 15.8 points shooting more than 50% on threes and almost 60% overall.

“I felt like in training camp you could see the signs that he was starting to do those things,’’ said Donovan. “You could see his intentions and mindset (to make the right play). He has a much better feel now of how he’s being guarded and the things he can go to. Teams have worked to keep him out of the lane, so they run under a lot of screens and back way off him and he’s worked to get himself ready to shoot. He’s got confidence in himself shooting. You saw him making the [right] decisions.”

DeMar DeRozan also had 29 points in the win. He is averaging 24.1 points, 5.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 28 games without Zach LaVine (foot) this season. Across those contests, he is connecting on 47.9 percent of 16.7 shots per game. The 34-year-old is averaging 28.8 points and logging 40.4 minutes per game in his last five contests. DeRozan leads the Bulls in games with 20 or more points (37) this season, including five in a row.

Coby White entered Monday’s contest dealing with an ankle sprain, but he looked no worse for the wear with 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds with just one turnover in 33 minutes. White has 28 games with three-plus three-pointers made this season. He leads the Bulls in those and ranks tied for 11th in the NBA in such games. Jevon Carter provided a boost off the bench with 11 points. Carter didn’t see the floor in their last game, but he saw action Monday with Caruso out and reached double figures for the first time since January 20.

The Bulls rank second in least turnovers per game (12.3), fifth in total points off turnovers (945), fourth in total deflections (827), fifth in points off turnovers per game (17.5), tied for seventh in total steals (418) and tied for ninth in steals per game (7.7) this season.

As for Wednesday, Nikola Vučević has tallied a double-double in five consecutive games versus Cleveland, averaging 11.2 rpg during this stretch. DeRozan is averaging 21.6 ppg in his last 10 matchups with the Cavaliers.

Why Bet on Cleveland Cavaliers?

At 35-17, Cleveland has the 2nd-best record in the Eastern Conference and its 35 wins through 52 games are tied for their 6th-most in franchise history.

The Cavs were big favorites against the short-handed 76ers on Monday but had their season-high nine-game winning streak snapped in a 123-121 home loss. Philly’s Maxey split a pair of free throws with 6.9 seconds left, giving Cleveland a last possession to extend its longest winning streak since it had LeBron James in 2018. They had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Darius Garland missed a 3-pointer from the right corner. The Cavs are 22-5 since Dec. 16.

“I don’t mean to say this in a harsh way, but we kind of deserve to lose this game just based off of how we started,” Donovan Mitchell said. “We came out as if they were going to lay it down and let us just continue to do what we do.”

Mitchell had 36 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals. After scoring just 15 points in a comfortable win over the Raptors on Saturday, Mitchell surpassed the 30-point mark for the third time in six games on Monday. The foul line had much to do with that, as his 14 makes and 17 attempts were season-highs. Mitchell also has been shooting well from beyond the arc over his past 10 games, connecting on 42.4 percent of 9.9 threes per game. On the season, Mitchell and OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the only players in the NBA averaging 28.0+ PPG, 5.0+ RPG, 6.0+ APG and 1.5+ SPG.

Darius Garland had 21 points and nine assists. It was first game with 20-plus points across eight appearances since returning from a broken jaw. Jarrett Allen shot 9-of-13 from the field to finish with 21 points and 10 boards. Allen recorded his third consecutive double-double on Monday while extending his streak of games with at least one blocked shot to five. It was Cleveland’s first home loss since Dec. 29 and first overall of 2024.

Cleveland still has won 17 of their last 19 games since Jan. 3 and is 22-5 (.814) in their last 27 games since Dec. 16, which is the best winning percentage in the NBA over that span. The Cavs have scored at least 100 points in 29-straight games since Dec. 12, marking the 2nd-longest streak of consecutive games in triple digits in team history.

Cleveland is averaging 115.0 PPG this season, marking the highest points per game average in team history. The Cavs have scored at least 110 points in 13 of their past 14. Since Dec. 12, the Cavs are averaging 15.2 threes made per game, tied with Golden State for 2nd-most in the NBA over that span. The Cavs are 11-0 this season when holding a team to 100 points or fewer.

Bulls vs Cavaliers Expert Prediction

Cavs 114, Bulls 107

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