History is well within reach for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At 13-0, Cleveland stands 11 wins from matching the best start to an NBA season. First it will have to get through the visiting Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
The Cavaliers remained perfect with a 114-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. They continue to work toward a 24-0 mark, the record the Golden State Warriors achieved to start the 2015-16 campaign before taking a loss in Game 25 of the season.
Darius Garland collected 25 points and Donovan Mitchell added 23 to go along with 13 rebounds and nine assists to carry Cleveland past the Knicks. The Cavs trailed by as many as eight in the third quarter.
Mitchell realizes the historical start places a massive target on the back of the Cavaliers, meaning every opponent will bring their A-game against them as long as the winning streak is alive.
“We’re hunting, but it’s also November,” Mitchell said. “I keep telling everybody, let’s relax. I’m saying it is November. We’re not winning a championship right now. But these are good tests.
“The fact that we’re 13-0 is great. We could be 9-2. It doesn’t really matter to me. I think the biggest thing is how do we just continue to build the habits through getting every team’s best shot on a night-by-night basis.”
Chicago certainly challenged Cleveland on Monday night when the game was knotted at 106 with 5:06 left in regulation. The Bulls faded down the stretch in what ended up being a 119-113 loss.
Zach LaVine paced the Bulls with a team-high 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting, then went off for 31 points in a narrow 124-123 win over the Knicks on Wednesday. LaVine also supplied seven boards and eight assists against New York.
“Pretty sharp,” LaVine said of his offensive game as of late. “Let’s keep it that way.”
There’s an off chance that guard Lonzo Ball is ready to rejoin the Bulls. The oft-injured point guard missed the past eight games due to a right wrist sprain.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan isn’t getting his hopes up.
“I know he was optimistic and hopeful to get back this upcoming weekend,” Donovan said. “I don’t know if that’s realistic. That’s what he was shooting for. We’re not ruling that out, but a lot of that is going to depend on how he progresses. … When he starts shooting threes, how does that respond?”
Ball was used off the bench in three games this season before being sidelined with the injury. Coby White and Josh Giddey have been starting in the backcourt. They have their hands full with Garland and Mitchell on Friday.
“We’re just sticking together,” Garland said. “Just taking it game by game. We know we’ve got a target on our back, so we’ve got to come in with that aggressiveness and that confidence that we’re going to win every game, and that’s what we’ve been doing.
“Even though like I said, long nights, not a lot of sleep, but we’ve got to stay together and just continue just to be great. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
