The Cavaliers improve to 12-0, best start since the 2015-16 Warriors

CHICAGO – The Cavaliers improved to 12-0 on Monday night with a 119-113 win over the Chicago Bulls, making Cleveland the eighth team in NBA history to begin a season undefeated in its first 12 games.

Cleveland is the first team with that many wins to start the season since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who went an NBA-record 24-0 to begin the campaign, finishing 73-9, also a record.

“It’s great to be a part of history,” said Cavs star Donovan Mitchell, who had a season-high 36 points against Chicago. “I never want to take those things for granted on the road when we do it in different ways. We do it in ways where we blow teams out. We come from behind. We win close games. And it’s a different one every night that lead the attack.

The Bulls pushed the Cavaliers into a competitive game, jumping out to a lead in the first quarter and staying within one point at halftime, despite 25 points from Mitchell in the first half.

Chicago took a nine-point lead into the third quarter, but Cleveland’s all-bench lineup helped lead the offense back into the game. That included Ty Jerome, who finished with 12 points and six assists as the Cavs outscored the Bulls by 21 points in his 21 minutes.

Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said he could tell his starters were feeling tired in the third period and he turned to the bench to give his starters a breather, which ended up sparking a run.

“He trusts guys, one to 15,” Jerome said. “That’s what a team is. Throughout the regular season, you need depth.”

Five of the previous seven teams that started at least 12-0 advanced to the NBA Finals.

“This group is locked in,” Atkinson said. “I think there’s (been) questions about this group, can they get to the next level, can they take the next step? So I think when you have that, you have that chip (on your shoulder), you focus even more.

“There’s a different level of concentration, a different level of focus, a different level of detail that these guys use to get us to 12-0 so far.”

Cleveland’s fast start comes in Atkinson’s first season as head coach. He had been an assistant with the Warriors the previous three seasons and was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020.

Still, Atkinson credited the team’s continuity for its start. He joined a team that already had Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley — a core in their third season together as teammates.

“Kenny did a great job of infusing everybody,” Mobley said Monday night. “We knew the defensive scheme coming in and he had an offensive scheme for us that he was going to work out. And he worked that out very well and I feel like everybody just bought in right away. Since then We’ve just been going up from there.”

Cleveland’s next three games are all favorable: on the road against an injured Philadelphia 76ers team on Wednesday before hosting the Bulls again on Friday and the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.

Atkinson said he wanted the players to celebrate the 12-0 start and Mitchell agreed it’s a record they should cherish right now. However, the Cavs star acknowledged that the true test will be how the Cavs respond to this fast start for the rest of the season and whether they can sustain this early momentum.

“It’s great. We’re playing well, the vibes are good, but we have to continue to be this team,” Mitchell said. “And that’s been my message to the guys in the locker room. It’s great. We’re going to get the teams best shot. We’re going to be tested early, but are we going to continue? And I never, no doubt that we will, but we have been my thing. Shall we continue to be this team in January, February, March, April a humble approach to it.”