Iffy call. It’s the kind of call you expect them to make just because they usually do. In reality, nice to see the refs actually let them play.

Of course in the playoffs, LeBron gets that call every time.

Blog-A-Bull is glad the Bulls got the win tonight. Because they figured it was only a matter of time before they blew the game.

While the Bulls defense held together all night (they shot 30% in the 3rd quarter and stayed within 5), I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and James to pull out the win with no comparable Bulls player existing to respond. It actually looked like it was going that way, with a James three-pointer followed by a block on Salmons. But Mo Williams hesitated a bit on a kick-out 3, then took an inexplicable running layup that wasn’t even close. The Bulls own late-game ineptitude (didn’t score with 3 possessions in the final 1:44) allowed James to still be able to be the hero down one with the ball, but Deng and Noah did the job. In fact, lets not say James didn’t get the superstar call, but Noah did get one.

The Bulls offense still, more or less, blows. They weren’t even able to hit the offensive glass tonight (a Cavs strength, denying that). Deng/Salmons/Hinrich shot a good percentage, but while Deng had a corner three-pointer (huge if he can do that) Hinrich and Salmons only chipped in 2 between them.

Cavs’ blog Fear The Sword fears the kind of effort they saw out of the Cavaliers tonight:

In a game that the Cavaliers seemed disinterested in playing for large parts of the final 3 quarters, a late LeBron James energy boost was not enough to beat a young Chicago Bulls team. First of, credit the Bulls. There were several times a young team could have folded – they didn’t. Instead it was the Cavs that played poor perimeter defense. It was the Cavs that turned the ball over at key times and it was the Cavs that couldn’t hit the big shot when needed.

Even the final play was flawed – especially in design. With 4.3 seconds remaining and the Cavaliers trailing by one, Mo Williams inbounded the ball to LeBron, with Shaq setting the pick to clear him. Nothing wrong there – except for the one guy I would imaging Shaq was supposed to get to – Joakim Noah – was the weakside help that caused LeBron to lose the ball out of bounds, ending any hopes the Cavs had of winning.

Many question whether or not LeBron should have been granted the foul on the final play. Fear The Sword thinks “the officials did a good job of swallowing their whistles for both sides late in the game and there was very little contact – just a lot of long arms.”

Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Luol Deng scored 15 points and helped to deny LeBron James on a last-second drive to the hoop as the Chicago Bulls edged Cleveland 86-85.

Derrick Rose added 14 points and 11 assists, while John Salmons also scored 14 for the Bulls, who posted their second straight victory. Taj Gibson ended with 11 points and seven boards. Joakim Noah, who also converged on James in the final crucial Cavs offensive play, pulled down 11 rebounds to go with seven points.

James had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but was miffed that no foul was called after he drove to the hoop, but lost the ball out of bounds with 0.2 seconds left. Shaquille O'Neal chipped in 14 points, 10 boards and five blocks for the Cavaliers, who have already lost twice at home this season, to match the total from all of 2008-09.

Anderson Varejao notched 12 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland, which had a three-game winning streak broken. Anthony Parker and Mo Williams both scored 11, but Williams missed a couple of crucial shots down the stretch.

Brad Miller's layup expanded Chicago's lead to 84-78 with 2:35 remaining, but the Cavs were able to trim the deficit as Williams and James each hit two foul shots.

Rose's floating jumper with 1:44 left moved the Bulls back to a four-point lead, but James sank a three-ball with 1:33 to go.

Both teams then failed on opportunities. Salmons' layup was blocked by James, but Williams then missed on a three-point try. Salmons couldn't hit a shot from beyond the arc inside of a minute left, but again the Cavs couldn't capitalize as Williams rushed a running shot from the left side and it clanked off the backboard.

The Bulls then worked the shot clock down, but when Deng missed off the backboard, the Cavs were given the ball back with 4.3 seconds left thanks to a 24-second shot-clock violation.

James drove to the left of the lane, but Deng was all over him and Noah came to help before the ball went out of bounds. Officials used video to review the play, but Chicago was given possession and a successful inbounds pass resulted in the game ending.

The Cavs held a 27-25 edge after one quarter and the fans in Cleveland held their breath late in the second when James went diving into the crowd to try and save the ball from going out of bounds. The reigning MVP got up and winced in pain, but remained on the court, only to see the Bulls grab a 46-43 lead at the half thanks to eight straight points to end the quarter.

It was tight throughout the third with the Cavs grabbing a 65-63 edge at the end of the period after a three-pointer from Daniel Gibson.

Cleveland was 3-1 versus Chicago last season and 13-3 against the Central Division, their most wins against the division since its 2004 realignment...Miller had 10 points.

Via Sports Network