Craig Porter Jr. shines in Cavs' loss to Bulls in preseason opener

CLEVELAND — Craig Porter Jr. has shown flashes of brilliance during his short career with the Cavaliers. At other times, the point guard has been inconspicuous. Tuesday wasn't one of those times. Porter put on a dazzling display from the 3-point line enroute to 17 points in Cleveland's 118-117 loss to the Chicago Bulls in the preseason opener for both teams at Rocket Arena. The athletic Porter gets to the basket at will, but it's been his suspect outside shooting that has held him back. If he's able to add that to his game, look out. The 6-foot-2, 188-pounder was 5-of-5 from long distance and added four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 18 minutes. "That was a hole I had to fill (in my game)," Porter said. "I tried to shoot threes until my arm fell off." Veteran guard Lonzo Ball came to the Cavs last summer in a trade with the Bulls. His Cleveland debut was lackluster, at best. He missed all four of his shots, three from 3-point range, dished out an assist and committed a turnover in 12 minutes of the first half. In the second half, Ball was replaced on the second team by rookie Tyrese Proctor. Cleveland's second-round pick in 2025 came off the bench firing and made 4-of-5 from the field for 14 points. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said he wasn't expecting much out of Proctor, the 49th overall pick in the draft. He thought he might be nothing more than a good G League player. "He feels like he belongs out there," he said. "He plays with moxie. He has way more stuff off the dribble than I thought. He can create off the dribble." Proctor said he's at his best when he is playing "free." "I'm playing best when I'm not thinking about anything," he said. Porter was challenged by his coach to get in tip-top shape. "His hard work paid off," Atkinson said. "It starts with his conditioning." Porter and Proctor have been pushing each other in open gyms. "We've been battling," Porter said. "We have very similar games. He's my evil twin." Starting small forward De'Andre Hunter's shooting touch looked to be in midseason form. He fired in 7 of 9 shots from the field for 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds. "He's arguably been our best player in open gyms and workouts," Atkinson said. "This didn't surprise me." The coach said he got on Hunter for passing up an open 3-pointer. "I told him, 'Let it fly,'" Atkinson said. Power forward Evan Mobley added 12 points, six rebounds and a block, while Larry Nance Jr. and Nae'Qwan Tomlin each scored 11 points. Chicago's Matas Buzelis had a game-high 19 points, while former Cavs player Isaac Okoro added 11 in his Bulls' debut. The Cavs blew a 14-point lead in the second quarter, as the two teams were tied at 57 at halftime. Chicago went ahead 90-83 after three quarters and never relinquished the lead. The Cavs played without injured players Darius Garland (toe), Max Strus (foot) and Sam Merrill (abductor). "(Merrill) has a little soreness in his abductor," Atkinson said. "He wanted to play. It's not worth it. We're going to be super cautious with him." Second-year guard Jaylon Tyson started at shooting guard but didn't do much shooting. He missed all five of his 3-point shots, but added three assists, two blocks and a steal. The second team consisted of Dean Wade, Nance, Tomlin, Porter and Ball. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.