NBA Cavs climb from hole, but still fall

Chicago broke a nine-game losing streak, while Cleveland lost its 11th straight on the road.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Jalen Rose scored 27 points and Donyell Marshall added 22 as the Chicago Bulls blew a 23-point lead Saturday but held on to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 112-104.
The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak for the Bulls, who won for only the third time in their last 18 games.
The Cavaliers mounted a furious comeback behind Ricky Davis, who scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half.
But it wasn't enough as the Cavaliers dropped their 11th straight on the road.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas led the Cavs with 28 points, and Dajuan Wagner added 18.
Previous loss to Cavs
The Cavs snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 111-101 victory over the Bulls on Wednesday in Cleveland, a loss Marshall called the team's "most embarrassing."
But blowing this one would have been even worse.
When Jay Williams scored on back-to-back dunks -- the second off his own steal -- with 3:01 left in the third, the Bulls had an 87-64 lead and seemed to be in complete control.
Or maybe not.
After making just two field goals in the first six minutes, Cleveland came alive with a 25-10 run that spanned the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters.
Smush Parker started the run, making a 3-pointer to close out the quarter. Tyrone Hill converted a three-point play to start the fourth, Davis made a fall-away jumper and Hill tipped in a miss.
The gap is cut
Ilgauskas then made a pair of free throws, and the Bulls' 23-point lead was down to 93-85 with 8:51 to play.
The Bulls opened up another lead, as Marshall made a layup to make it 101-89 lead with 6:05 to play.
But the Cavaliers made another run. Davis made a pair of free throws, and Ilgauskas was fouled as he scored on layup.
He made the free throw, and Davis stole the ball from Trenton Hassell on the other end of the court.
Davis scored on a fast-break dunk, pulling Cleveland within 102-96 with 4:57 to play.
Chicago coach Bill Cartwright, furious with his team's ineptitude on defense, called a time-out and the Bulls finally pulled it together.
Williams made a running jumper, and Rose scored on a finger-roll to give Chicago a 106-96 lead with 2:45 left.
Notes
Chicago snapped a three-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.
Bulls C Tyson Chandler was out of the starting lineup for the second straight night with a strained back. He played 20 minutes, scoring eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and grabbing three rebounds.
This was the first time in four games that Wagner failed to lead the Cavs in scoring. He's still averaging 25.8 points over the last five games.