Cavaliers unable to extend streak



Chicago won at Quicken Loans Arena for the first time in seven games.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Luol Deng scored 18 points and Ben Wallace had 19 rebounds, a season-high seven blocks and two huge free throws in the final minutes to lead the Chicago Bulls to an 84-78 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Wallace added 14 points as the Bulls snapped a six-game losing streak in Cleveland and improved to 8-2 in the Central Division.
Ben Gordon scored 16 points and Kirk Hinrich 11 for the Bulls, who overcame foul trouble and put away the Cavaliers with a 14-5 burst in the fourth quarter.
LeBron James scored 29 points and Larry Hughes had 20 for Cleveland, but the Cavaliers, the NBA's worst free-throw shooting team, were just 8-of-16 from the line. Chicago, meanwhile, was 12-of-12 from the stripe.
After a fadeaway jumper by Deng in the foul lane gave the Bulls a 78-73 lead, Wallace, a 41 percent free throw shooter, stepped up to the line and swished his only two attempts of the game.
Late charge
Deng scored again to make it 82-73 before James hit a 3-pointer and scored on a follow to pull the Cavaliers within 82-78. However, Gordon made two more free throws with 13.7 seconds left to seal it.
The Cavaliers played their fourth straight game without starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who is attending to personal family health matters and may not rejoin the club until this weekend. Cleveland was also missing guard Sasha Pavlovic (flu) and guard Damon Jones (strep throat).
The Cavs overcame a 16-point deficit in the third quarter and took a 71-68 lead with 6:56 remaining on Donyell Marshall's 3-pointer.
But Deng took advantage of a mismatch and scored over rookie Daniel Gibson before hitting two free throws to out Chicago up 72-71. The Cavs misfired on their next two possessions, and the Bulls made them pay as Wallace scored twice underneath to give Chicago a 76-71 lead with 3:39 left.
Defensive surge
Down by 16 points midway through the third and unable to get their offense untracked, the Cavaliers got some defensive stops and got back in it.
James scored seven points in less than a minute during a 10-0 spurt as Cleveland closed within 58-51. Eric Snow's three-point play tied it 60-all before baskets by Chris Duhon and Deng gave Chicago a 64-62 lead after three.
The Bulls, who held Atlanta without a field goal for the entire third quarter in a win on Tuesday, limited Cleveland to 4-of-19 shooting, nine points and just one shot per possession in the second quarter.
Chicago's Andres Nocioni returned after missing seven games with plantar fasciitis and scored five points in 15 minutes.
Notes
A moment of silence was observed before the game for Dennis Johnson, a former star guard who died Thursday. "He was a difficult player to play against," said Bulls coach Scott Skiles. "It's sad." ... Brown said when Ilgauskas comes back he'll also return to Cleveland's starting lineup and Anderson Varejao will come off the bench. Ilgauskas started the club's first 51 games. ... James added another endorsement contract to his portfolio, signing a multiyear deal with Cub Cadet, manufacturer of lawn mowers, lawn tractors and snow throwers. James already has deals with Sprite, Nike, MSN, Bubblicious and Upper Deck. ... Cavs GM Danny Ferry was relieved Jason Kidd stayed with New Jersey and wasn't dealt to another Eastern Conference club. "If Jason Kidd was going to get traded I was hoping he was going West," he cracked.

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