Preview: Cavaliers at Bulls

[May 14, 2015]  LeBron James has placed the Cleveland Cavaliers in position to wrap up the series against Chicago when they travel to face the Bulls in Thursday’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. James’ epic Game 5 performance included 38 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and no turnovers to give Cleveland a 3-2 lead.

James sprained his left ankle in Game 4 but didn’t seem to be bothered by the ailment while playing 41 minutes on Tuesday. “LeBron was just outstanding in every element of the game,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt told reporters. “You can’t pick a thing that he didn’t do at the highest level.” Chicago will be looking for point guard Derrick Rose to bounce back from a shaky 16-point outing after scoring 30 or more points in back-to-back contests. Rose tweaked his shoulder and all indications are that the ailment is minor and won’t affect his availability.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT THE BULLS: Power forward Pau Gasol (hamstring) has missed the last two games and the club is confident that he will return for Game 6. Chicago has missed a big piece of its attack with Gasol sidelined as role player Taj Gibson isn’t up to the task of picking up the slack. “I think (Gasol) knows his body,” Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. “If he feels good enough to play, we’ll give it a shot. He’s been around long enough to understand. His health is the big thing. If he can go, he’ll go. If he can’t or doesn’t feel comfortable with it, he won’t.”

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: James wasn’t the only Cleveland player standing out in Game 5 as point guard Kyrie Irving re-emerged to score 25 points – more than his combined output of the previous two games (23), when he was 5-of-23 from the field. Irving has been bothered by injuries to his right foot and left knee and made three 3-pointers as part of a 9-of-16 shooting effort over 39 minutes. Shooting guard Iman Shumpert (groin) bounced back for 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting after being 4-of-17 over the previous two contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cavaliers C Timofey Mozgov missed all seven of his field-goal attempts in Game 5 and is shooting 37.8 percent in the series.

2. Chicago SG Jimmy Butler had series-high outputs of 29 points and nine rebounds in Game 5.

3. Cleveland PF Tristan Thompson has recorded double-doubles in two of the past three games and is averaging 10 rebounds in the series.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 97, Bulls 95

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