Cavaliers in control of Game 1 vs. Bulls

Associated Press

cleveland

They’ve got more depth. They’ve got more size. They’ve got Shaq. And, of course, they’ve still got LeBron James.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a different look this postseason.

“We,” James said, “have the look of a champion.”

Completely healthy and well rested, the Cavaliers took their first step toward an NBA title on Saturday as James scored 24 points and Shaquille O’Neal looked and played 10 years younger in a 96-83 victory over the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series.

O’Neal, playing for the first time since tearing a thumb ligament on Feb. 25, had 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 24 minutes as the top-seeded Cavs won a testy opener between two teams that obviously don’t care for each other.

“I have no friends in that locker room, except for Danny Green,” said Chicago’s Joakim Noah, who was plagued by foul trouble and booed for much of the game by Cleveland fans. “I don’t really know nobody on that team and I don’t really care. I just want to win.”

The Bulls, who trimmed a 22-point deficit to seven in the fourth quarter before wearing down, will get a chance to even the best-of-seven series Monday night in Cleveland.

Derrick Rose had 28 points and 10 assists for Chicago, which had the misfortune of being the first team to face the Cavs in these playoffs. Cleveland has been rebuilt for a championship, adding starters O’Neal, Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker to a team that made it to the Eastern Conference finals last year.

After they were eliminated last May by Orlando, the Cavaliers traded for O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion and icon. O’Neal was brought in not only to combat Magic center Dwight Howard but to help James win his first title and deliver Cleveland its first in any major pro sport since 1964.

The Cavs need 15 more wins to get it.

“Everyone knows it’s the first team to 16 wins,” O’Neal said.

Leading 68-46, the Cavs were coasting to an easy win when the Bulls, who have been in playoff mode for the past two weeks as they fought for the No. 8 seed, stormed back. They scored 12 straight and were still within striking distance, down 73-60 entering the fourth.

Chicago cut it to 82-75 on Brad Miller’s basket, but James converted a three-point play with 2:29 left and Mo Williams followed with a 3-pointer to put Cleveland up 94-81.

Williams added 19 points and 10 assists, and Jamison, acquired at the trading deadline from Washington, had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Cleveland blocked 12 shots — 10 in the second half.

James was his usual MVP self, making plays at both ends. But unlike past postseasons, he doesn’t have to do it alone this time.

O’Neal looked remarkably sharp despite missing the Cavs’ final 23 games after undergoing surgery to fix his thumb. He dropped 20 pounds while he was sidelined.