Beast of the East? Cavaliers down Bulls to wrap up top seed in conference for postseason

CLEVELAND — They were hootin' and hollerin' in the Cavaliers locker room. The Cavs had every reason to be exhilarated after earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 135-113 blowout of the shorthanded Chicago Bulls on Tuesday at Rocket Arena. Cleveland improved to 63-16 overall and 34-6 at home, both tops in the East. The Cavs were able to demolish the Bulls (36-43, ninth in East) without their leading scorer in Donovan Mitchell, who missed the game with a sprained left ankle. Coach Kenny Atkinson termed Mitchell's sprained ankle as "mild" before the game. Now that there's nothing left to play for, don't be shocked if Cleveland shuts down Mitchell for the final three regular-season games. At this point, the most important thing for the Cavs is to be healthy and rested for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, which is expected to start Sunday, April 20, against the play-in winner. "You celebrate these moments," Atkinson said. "Guys are super happy in that locker room. We've had some ups and downs the last month (7-6 in their last 13 games)." Point guard Darius Garland, who snapped out of a recent funk with a game-high 28 points, was thrilled with the team's accomplishment. "It's great," he said. "It's cool to be the No. 1 seed and get to watch the other guys play. The work has just started." If Atkinson has his way, he said he'd vote for Mitchell to rest in the last three games. "My personal opinion is to err on the side of caution," he said. Garland dished out five assists and had a splashy 6-of-10 performance from behind the 3-point arc. "He needed to get his swag back," Atkinson said. "He had a little dip. That's the guy we've seen all year. That's the guy we need in the playoffs." Cavs power forward Evan Mobley filled the stat sheet with 21 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block. He also drained three of six 3-pointers. "Evan is going to take us wherever we want to go," Garland said. Cleveland's one-two punch off the bench — University of Virginia alums Ty Jerome and De'Andre Hunter — continued their outstanding play. Jerome finished with 18 points and five assists, while Hunter added 17 points, four assists and three steals. In all, the Cavs dished out 35 assists. The Cavs blitzed Chicago from behind the 3-point line with a 25-of-50 onslaught (.500). They outscored the Bulls 75-45 from long distance and fell one 3-pointer short of the franchise record of 26 vs. Dallas on Feb. 2. "We're built that way," Atkinson said. "We got back to the way we played all year. We got back to that let-it-fly mentality." Cleveland also attempted a season-high 100 shots from the field and made 51 (.510). Patrick Williams led the Bulls, who were playing without seven players because of injuries, with a season-high 21 points. Backup center Zach Collins pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Cleveland held onto a 98-85 advantage heading into the final period. Atkinson said he'd celebrate at home by opening up a bottle of Burgundy, sitting back and reflecting on the second-best win total in franchise history. "It's hard to get 63 wins and the No. 1 seed," he said. "But we want more." Practice makes ... Atkinson said the Cavs have had three full practices in the last 46 days. He said the real challenge is getting their point across without doing it on the court. "We have to be creative and smart on how to teach," he said. Fired up over firing Like many around the league, Atkinson was surprised by the timing of Mike Malone's firing in Denver as the Nuggets' coach. "I'm not surprised anymore," he said. "I'm not shocked. I hate to see it." Atkinson said he's become "jaded" and almost "immune" to the firings. But getting fired two weeks before the playoffs is a head-scratcher, the coach said. Malone was an assistant in Cleveland for five years under then-head coach Mike Brown. Who were those guys? Chicago played without Lonzo Ball (wrist), Ayo Dosunmu (shoulder), Kevin Huerter (cervical strain), Tre Jones (midfoot), Coby White (rest), Josh Giddey (right flexor) and Nikola Vucevic (calf). NBA TV nixes Knicks game Cleveland's game at New York on Friday will no longer be televised by NBA TV. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X. Cleveland 135, Chicago 113 CHICAGO (113): Buzelis 6-12 5-7 19, Williams 7-11 2-2 21, Smith 4-10 4-5 13, Carter 4-15 0-0 10, Terry 3-8 2-2 9, Liddell 3-4 0-0 6, Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Phillips 3-6 0-0 7, Collins 3-6 0-0 7, Horton-Tucker 6-11 3-3 17, Young 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 41-86 16-19 113. CLEVELAND (135): Mobley 8-18 2-2 21, Okoro 1-5 0-0 2, Allen 5-8 2-4 12, Garland 10-17 2-2 28, Strus 3-7 0-0 9, Bates 1-2 0-0 3, Okeke 1-2 0-0 2, Travers 0-0 0-0 0, Wade 3-5 0-0 9, Jerome 7-11 1-1 18, Tyson 2-5 0-0 5, Hunter 7-15 1-4 17, Green 0-0 0-0 0, Merrill 3-5 0-0 9. Totals 51-100 8-13 135. Chicago &emsp;&emsp; 24 &emsp;&emsp;24 &emsp;&emsp;37 &emsp;&emsp;28 &emsp;&emsp;— &emsp;&emsp;113Cleveland &emsp;&emsp;25 &emsp;&emsp;43 &emsp;&emsp;30 &emsp;&emsp;37 &emsp;&emsp;— &emsp;&emsp;135 3-Point Goals—Chicago 15-43 (Williams 5-6, Horton-Tucker 2-5, Buzelis 2-7, Carter 2-9, Phillips 1-2, Collins 1-3, Smith 1-5, Terry 1-5, Liddell 0-1), Cleveland 25-50 (Garland 6-10, Jerome 3-4, Wade 3-4, Merrill 3-5, Mobley 3-6, Strus 3-7, Hunter 2-8, Tyson 1-1, Bates 1-2, Okeke 0-1, Okoro 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Chicago 45 (Collins 13), Cleveland 45 (Mobley 12). Assists—Chicago 26 (Buzelis, Williams 5), Cleveland 35 (Mobley 7). Total Fouls—Chicago 15, Cleveland 15. A—19,432 (19,432).