CLEVELAND, Ohio — The December storm raged on.
The undermanned Cavs lost their third straight game and eighth in the last 11, falling at home to the Chicago Bulls, 136-125, on Friday night.
Chicago, just 12-15 overall, has three wins since Nov. 23. Two of them have come against the free-falling Cavs in the last 48 hours. Cleveland is 15-14 this season, eighth in the Eastern Conference.
With just 10 players in uniform, the Cavs opened the game on a spirited 11-0 burst, as first-time starter Tyrese Proctor accounted for six of those points.
That was one of the few highlights of the evening.
The Bulls pulled even by the 6:45 mark of the first quarter — and it remained that way going into the second quarter.
That’s when Chicago took control — a turnaround second capped by a 15-5 run that allowed it to build an 11-point halftime edge.
As boos intensified around the four-minute mark of the third quarter, the Cavs finally took their first lead of the second half — part of an energetic 9-0 flurry in response to loud jeers from the irritated home crowd.
That Cleveland advantage lasted only about a minute.
Despite erupting for 44 third-quarter points and outscoring the Bulls in the period (44-35), the Cavs went into the fourth trailing by two.
They tied the game at the six-minute mark on Darius Garland’s long-range triple. It was 115-all. But that’s as close as they got. From there, Chicago outscored Cleveland 21-10 to finish the game, leading to more heckles as the Cavaliers dejectedly walked off the court.
Again.
It’s the fourth time in the last five games the Cavs have been heckled by the Cleveland faithful.
Donovan Mitchell and Craig Porter Jr. — both unavailable because of illness — couldn’t even be in the arena. Evan Mobley (calf strain), Sam Merrill (sprained right hand), Larry Nance Jr. (calf strain) and Max Strus (foot surgery) were also unavailable.
So undermanned, the Cavs booked a last-minute flight for two-way forward Luke Travers who was with the Cleveland Charge preparing for the G League Showcase in Orlando when he received the call. Travers took a Southwest Airlines direct that landed in Cleveland at 5:30 p.m. — about two hours before tipoff. He logged five minutes. Scored four points.
Garland tallied a season-high 35 points. Proctor added 16. Nae’Qwan Tomlin chipped in with 16 off the bench while Jarrett Allen (14 points), De’Andre Hunter (11) and Thomas Bryant (11) also reached double figures.
The Bulls used a balanced attack to overwhelm Cleveland’s already flimsy defense. Nikola Vucevic and Matas Buzelis had 24 points apiece. Five others reached the double-digit mark, including Josh Giddey who had 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Throughout Friday, players were asked about weathering the storm and staying positive in the face of adversity. Atkinson said pregame that more clouds were rolling in as a result of Mitchell and Porter being added to the injury report.
It was a fitting metaphor. That’s the state of the Cavs right now.
Darkness.
**Up next**
The Cavs will have the weekend off before hosting Charlotte at Rocket Arena on Monday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.