1st Quarter Report
Only three more quarters stand between the Cavaliers and the victory they were favored to collect coming into this evening. After one quarter their offense has really been able to impose its will, dominating the Bulls 40-21.
The Cavaliers entered the contest having won four straight and they’re just three quarters away from another. Will they make it five, or will the Bulls step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Chicago Bulls @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Current Records: Chicago 19-22, Cleveland 22-15
How To Watch
- When: Monday, January 15, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse — Cleveland, Ohio
- TV: Bally Sports – Ohio
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $11.00
What to Know
The Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Chicago Bulls at 7:00 p.m. ET on Monday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse after having had a few days off. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
The Cavaliers had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.7 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They walked away with a 111-102 victory over Brooklyn.
Donovan Mitchell was the offensive standout of the matchup as he dropped a double-double on 45 points and 12 rebounds. Those 45 points set a new season-high mark for him.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn’t a dominant performance, Chicago beat San Antonio 122-116 on Saturday.
The Bulls’ success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nikola Vucevic led the charge by dropping a double-double on 24 points and 16 rebounds.
Cleveland has been performing well recently as they’ve won nine of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 22-15 record this season. As for Chicago, their win bumped their record up to 19-22.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: The Cavaliers haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 13.4 turnovers per game. However, it’s not like the Bulls (currently ranked second in turnovers per game) struggle in that department as they’ve been averaging only 11.7 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
As for their next game, the Cavaliers are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by four points. This contest will be their fifth straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 3-1 against the spread).
Odds
Cleveland is a 4-point favorite against Chicago, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Cavaliers as a 3.5-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 220.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Cleveland has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Chicago.
- Dec 23, 2023 – Cleveland 109 vs. Chicago 95
- Feb 11, 2023 – Cleveland 97 vs. Chicago 89
- Jan 02, 2023 – Cleveland 145 vs. Chicago 134
- Dec 31, 2022 – Cleveland 103 vs. Chicago 102
- Oct 22, 2022 – Cleveland 128 vs. Chicago 96
- Mar 26, 2022 – Chicago 98 vs. Cleveland 94
- Mar 12, 2022 – Chicago 101 vs. Cleveland 91
- Jan 19, 2022 – Chicago 117 vs. Cleveland 104
- Dec 08, 2021 – Cleveland 115 vs. Chicago 92
- Apr 21, 2021 – Cleveland 121 vs. Chicago 105
