Cleveland Cavaliers Team Report - November 27

(Basketball News) - The red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers will return home this evening to play host to the struggling Chicago Bulls at Gund Arena.

The Cavaliers won for the eighth time in nine games on Friday evening, as they defeated the Boston Celtics, 98-96, at FleetCenter. Drew Gooden had 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting and added six rebounds to lead the Cavaliers.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 26 points and seven rebounds while LeBron James had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. But it was James’ lone blocked shot of the game, on a Paul Pierce attempt as time ran out in regulation, that allowed the Cavaliers to seal the deal.

A James hoop put the Cavaliers up 96-94 with a minute remaining, but Gary Payton hit a scoop shot with 40 seconds left to tie it again. James then assisted on the game-winning shot by Ilgauskas, who hit a jumper from the left elbow with 31 seconds left to put Cleveland back on top at 98-96.

Boston had a chance to tie it in the waning seconds, but Pierce took the inbound pass and attempted a fade-away jumper from the foul line that James blocked to seal the Cleveland victory.

The victory allowed the Cavaliers to improve their road record to .500 (3-3) on the season. Cleveland is also off to its best start since beginning the 2000-01 season with a 9-3 record. Last year, the Cavs managed just two wins in their first 19 games of the season.

Tonight’s game will mark the first meeting of the season between the Cavs and Bulls. The teams split four matchups last season, but Cleveland has won nine of the last 16 meetings. The Cavs have also taken 11 of the last 14 encounters on their home court.