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Jamal Collier, ESPN
CHICAGO — The Cavaliers improved to 12-0 on Monday night with a 119-113 victory over the Bulls, making Cleveland the eighth team in NBA history to begin a season undefeated in its first 12 games.
Cleveland is the first team to rack up this many wins to start the season since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who went an NBA-record 24-0 to begin that campaign, which they finished 73-9, also a record.
“It’s great to be part of history,” said Cavs star Donovan Mitchell, who had a season-high 36 points against Chicago. “I never want to take those things for granted along the road when we’re doing it in various ways. We’re doing it in ways where we are blowing out teams. We’re winning from behind. We’re winning close games. And it’s somebody different every night leading the charge. It’s always a group effort.”
The Bulls pushed the Cavaliers to a competitive game, jumping out to a first-quarter lead and staying within one point at halftime, despite 25 points from Mitchell in the first half.
Chicago took a nine-point lead in the third quarter, but Cleveland’s all-bench lineup helped lead the charge back into the game. That included Ty Jerome, who finished with 12 points and six assists as the Cavs outscored the Bulls by 21 points during his 21 minutes.
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said he could tell his starters were feeling fatigued during the third period and that he turned to the bench lineup to give them a breather, which ended up fueling a run.
“He’s trusting guys, one through 15,” Jerome said. “That’s what a team is. Throughout the regular season, you need depth.”
Five of the previous seven teams to start at least 12-0 went on to reach the NBA Finals.
“This group is locked in,” Atkinson said. “I do think there’s [been] questions about this group, whether they can get to the next level, can they make the next step? So, I think when you have that, you have that chip [on your shoulder], you focus even more.
“There’s another level of concentration, another level of focus, another level of detail that these guys use to carry us to 12-0 so far.”
The Cavs’ fast start comes in the first season with Atkinson as head coach. He had been an assistant with the Warriors the previous three campaigns and was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020.
Atkinson credited Cleveland’s continuity for its start. He joined a team that already had Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley — a core in the third season together as teammates.
“Kenny did a great job of infusing everybody,” Mobley said Monday night. “We knew the defensive system coming in, and he had an offense scheme for us that he wanted to work out. And he mended that very well, and I feel like everyone just bought in right away. Since then, we’ve just been going up from there.”
Cleveland’s next three contests are all favorable: on the road against a short-handed Philadelphia 76ers squad on Wednesday before hosting the Bulls on Friday and the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
Atkinson said he wanted his players to celebrate the 12-0 start, and Mitchell agreed it’s a record they should cherish right now. However, the Cavs star acknowledged the true test will be how the Cavs respond to this early momentum for the rest of the season and whether they can sustain it.
“It’s great. We’re playing well, vibes are good, but we have to continue to be this team,” Mitchell said. “And that’s been my message to the guys in the locker room. This is great. We’re going to get teams’ best shots. We’re going to get tested early, but are we going to continue? And I never — no doubt we will — but that’s been my thing. Are we going to continue to be this team January, February, March, April?
“I think the guys all feel it, but it’s great to enjoy these moments too while you’re still having a humble approach to it.”