Chicago won by its largest margin all season.
CLEVELAND — Oh, the horror! The Cleveland Cavaliers are trapped in a Windy City whirlwind, haunted by the same demonic duo not once, but twice in a matter of days. Matas Buzelis and Nikola Vučević, those unrelenting sorcerers of the hardwood, each dropped a spine-chilling 24 points on the hapless Cavs, conjuring a 136-125 victory for the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. It’s not just a win—it’s a curse, a 24-point plague that’s left Cleveland reeling and questioning if they’ve stepped into some alternate basketball dimension where the Bulls reign supreme.
Just 48 hours earlier, on Wednesday at the United Center, the Bulls had already cast their spell, dismantling the Cavaliers 127-111 in a lopsided affair. Now, repeating the nightmare on Cleveland’s home turf? That’s no fluke—that’s fate laughing in the face of the Wine and Gold. For the first time since November 19, Chicago has claimed back-to-back victories over their Central Division rivals, and it’s all thanks to the unstoppable tandem of Buzelis and Vučević. “It’s like they’re feeding off each other’s energy,” one Bulls insider might whisper, but let’s face it: this is pure black magic on the court.
Vučević, the Montenegrin maestro, wasn’t content with just scoring—he dominated the glass with 15 rebounds, turning the fourth quarter into his personal playground. Eleven points and six boards in the final frame alone? That’s the stuff of legends, or in Cleveland’s case, nightmares. As the game hung in the balance, tied at 115-all, Vučević ignited a 17-8 Bulls blitz, including a go-ahead layup that sucked the life out of the arena. Buzelis, the Lithuanian lightning bolt, matched his veteran’s fire point-for-point, draining threes and slashing to the rim with the precision of a curse that’s impossible to break.
But the Bulls’ sorcery didn’t stop there. Seven Chicago players reached double figures, a balanced attack that overwhelmed the depleted Cavs. Josh Giddey orchestrated the offense with 17 points, while Tre Jones provided a spark off the bench with 16. It was a team effort, sure, but under the shadow of that 24-point curse, everything clicked like a well-oiled hex.
On the other side, the Cavaliers are crumbling under the weight of injuries and inconsistency. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell sat out with an illness, and forward Evan Mobley remains sidelined for at least another week with a nagging calf injury. Darius Garland fought valiantly, erupting for a season-high 35 points in a desperate bid to exorcise the demons. Rookie guard Tyrese Proctor, making his first NBA start, chipped in 16 points with poise beyond his years, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin added 15 off the bench. Jarrett Allen battled in the paint, but even his efforts couldn’t stem the tide.
The Cavs started strong, racing to an 11-0 lead that had the home crowd buzzing. But the Bulls, ever the comeback kids, responded with a flurry: Buzelis nailed a three, Jaylon Tyson picked up a Flagrant 1 foul, and after the free throw and a Vučević layup, Chicago had clawed back six points in one possession. By halftime, the Bulls led 66-55, and they pushed it to 74-60 early in the third. Cleveland mounted a furious 27-9 run, fueled by Allen’s 10 points and four rebounds, plus Garland’s nine points and four assists. For a moment, it seemed the curse might lift.
Alas, no. The fourth quarter belonged to Chicago, and the Cavs’ slide continued. They’ve now dropped three straight, four of their last five, and a staggering five of their past six home games. The once-mighty Cavaliers, contenders in the East, are now victims of a Chicago spell that’s showing no signs of fading.
Adding to the chaos, game official Tre Maddox suffered a leg injury at the end of the first quarter, leaving just Ray Acosta and Phenizee Ransom to officiate the rest of the contest. Two refs for three quarters? In a game this intense, it’s a wonder more fouls weren’t called—or maybe that’s part of the curse too.
As the final buzzer sounded, the Bulls celebrated their enchanted evening, while Cleveland was left to ponder: How do you break a 24-point curse? For now, the answer eludes them. The Chicago spell lives on, and the Cavaliers? They’re just praying for daylight.