There’s a fine line between perfection and mediocrity in the NBA.
The Bulls walked it for 47-plus minutes Monday and then fell off.
Thanks to 36 points by Donovan Mitchell and a nasty finger roll with 23.6 seconds left by Darius Garland, the Bulls fell just short of handing the unbeaten Cavaliers their first loss of the season, losing 119-113 at the United Center.
Too many turnovers and not enough star power. It’s an ongoing storyline for the Bulls (4-7) and one that seemingly is haunting them at the worst times.
Last week, they watched the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards ‘‘out-star’’ them in back-to-back games. On Monday, it was Mitchell and Garland.
The Cavs improved to 12-0, extending the best start to a season in franchise history. As for the Bulls, it was back to second-guessing why the turnovers persist. They committed 21 in their latest defeat.
‘‘We had a couple of moments where we beat ourselves,’’ guard Zach LaVine said. ‘‘They’re a good team. You can’t have that many mistakes against them. They’ll take advantage.’’
They did, indeed, with the Cavs flipping those turnovers into 35 points.
‘‘It’s reading the game,’’ guard Josh Giddey said. ‘‘When we have a couple of bad possessions, probably slow it down, get us into something.
‘‘We’re emphasizing pace and the way we want to play, but it’s also my job to recognize if we haven’t gotten a good look in a couple of trips down, slow the game down. That’s probably where a few turnovers came from, just leaving my feet. It’s been a little bit of an issue, but I’m the first one to look in the mirror and say I’ve got to be better in that area.’’
That’s because Giddey and his teammates know the game was there for the taking.
Coach Billy Donovan couldn’t have asked for a better first half. The Bulls played with pace and were lethal from three-point range.
Each time the Cavs looked to grab a sliver of momentum, the Bulls had an answer. That was on display midway through the second quarter, when the Cavs turned a Bulls turnover into an
alley-oop slam by Evan Mobley to build a 10-point lead.
It was short-lived.
A couple of free throws by Giddey, back-to-back jumpers by LaVine and a three-pointer by Patrick Williams, and the Bulls had cut their deficit to one.
LaVine gave the Bulls the lead with a three-pointer with 36 seconds left in the half, but Garland made a floater in the lane to send the teams to the locker room with the Cavs ahead by one.
Either way, ‘‘Billy ball’’ was alive and well, with the Bulls shooting 10-for-21 from three-point range and amassing 17 assists in the first half.
The Bulls have been a Jekyll-and-Hyde team in the third quarter this season, but they played some of their best basketball of the season in the first seven-plus minutes of the second half. That’s how they turned their one-point halftime deficit into a nine-point lead.
But there’s a reason the Cavs have the third-best bench rating so far this season, and it was that bench that flexed its muscles to close out the quarter. The Cavs took the lead back and went into the fourth with a three-point edge.
That’s when Mitchell showed his elite talent, scoring 10 points in the fourth to help close it out.
‘‘D-Mitch is an All-Star, an All-NBA player,’’ LaVine said. ‘‘We’ve been playing against each other for a long time. It’s a battle. [Just] try and make him take tough ones.’’