In Chicago's 16-point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, they held the Cavs to 111 points, and put in a great defensive effort on Darius Garland specifically in the win.
In Chicago's 16-point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, they held the Cavs to 111 points. The Bulls fought hard over screens, contested shots, and made the dynamic backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland work hard for every single field goal attempt (FGA). Chicago, specifically, put in a great defensive effort on Darius Garland in the win.
At the United Center on Wednesday, the Bulls held Garland to 15 points on 6-16 (37.5%) shooting from the field. It was a total team effort on Garland. At the start of the game, the Bulls understanding of personnel seemed quite poor as there was too much space being given to Garland, especially on switches. This led to a trio of 3-point makes in the first quarter from Garland.
Things flipped quickly for the Bulls defensively, led by the effort of the returning Isaac Okoro. Perhaps it was his familiarity with his former teammates, but Okoro was excellent in chasing around Garland, and managed to get a tight contest up on several shots. When he wasn't able to bother a FGA, Okoro did all he could to lead Garland into the help defense, even leading to a block for Nikola Vucevic.
Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones were also great in spurts guarding Garland. Huerter was able to use his superior size to bother Garland's shots, and Jones utilized his quickness to stick with him all over the floor, even hounding him into two misses on one possession in the fourth.
Garland is not the primary creator for the Cavaliers, that would be six-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell. But with Evan Mobley out for Cleveland, focusing on weathering the production of Garland focuses so much onto Mitchell's plate that you can live with his FGAs.
Mitchell took 23 FGAs in Wednesday's game, and dominated the fourth quarter to the tune of 4-5 shooting from the field. But Mitchell's singular dominance on offense wasn't enough in the final frame with how locked in the Bulls were on making sure he had little in the way of help. In that same fourth quarter where Mitchell was 4-5, Garland shot 0-5 from the field, had no assists and one turnover.
As we head into Friday night's Cavs-Bulls rematch, Mitchell currently sits listed as questionable with an illness. If Mitchell can't go on Friday, Cleveland will be even more hard prd pressed for a big performance from Garland. Can Chicago replicate Wednesday's lockdown effort? Because getting a win on Friday will likely depend on it.
Read More Chicago Bulls Coverage
MORE: Is The Bulls Defense Actually Improving?
MORE: Projected Top-4 2026 NBA Draft Picks That Solve The Bulls Main Issues
MORE: Bulls (Finally) Show Some Fight in Close Win Over the Charlotte Hornets
MORE: Timberwolves Reportedly Interested in Trading for Coby White
MORE: Billy Donovan Doesn't Hold Back About Chicago Bulls' Struggles
MORE: Mock Draft Roundup: Who Are the Chicago Bulls Predicted to Select In The 2026 NBA Draft?