Cavs star LeBron James got a rare octupal double in Sunday’s 121-98 rout of the Bulls to all but seal the playoff series for Cleveland. He scored 37 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out 11 assists, swiped 12 steals, leaped for 10 blocks, pounded out 25 fist bumps, ate 13 Chicago hot dogs and banged 11 Luvabulls cheerleaders at halftime.
“It was just another night at the office,” said the ever-humble James, who was already awarded the league’s MVP award, even though the voting has yet to be conducted. “I just wanted to go out and give my best.”
The Bulls stayed close for the first half, but inexplicably put rookie James Johnson on him at the end of the half, leading to a late 22-9 run that put the game out of reach. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro was asked about the decision to put a rookie on James at the end of the half.
“Oh, are they still playing? I thought this series was over last week,” Del Negro said. “Seriously, I just assumed I’d already been fired. By the way, you guys hear of any job openings?”
Joakim Noah led the Bulls with 21 points and 20 rebounds. But even worse than the loss was the prospect of having to go back to Cleveland for Game 5 of the series on Tuesday.
“Cleveland on a Tuesday. Awesome,” the outspoken big man said. “Maybe we can go see the Policeman’s Benevolent Association Orchestra or go eat at TGI McCrappy’s.”
By Matthew Wood
