No Evan Mobley, no problem for the still undefeated Cavaliers. The Cavs on Nov. 15 began their quest for the NBA Cup by demolishing the Chicago Bulls, 144-126, on the strength of a 37-point fourth quarter in front of 19,432 rally-towel waving fans at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to improve to 14-0. Only three teams in NBA history started better than 14-0. The 1948-49 Washington Capitals and 1993-94 Houston Rockets were 15-0. The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors started 24-0 and lost to the Cavs in the NBA Finals. Donovan Mitchell scored 18 of his game-high 37 points in the fourth quarter. Darius Garland scored 29 points and had nine assists. Jarrett Allen scored 24 points (on 11 of 15 shooting) and added 10 rebounds. Coach Kenny Atkinson says the 14-0 #Cavaliers are playing "Warrioresque" basketball after making 21 of 43 3s to beat the #Bulls, 144-126, Friday night. pic.twitter.com/k12FkSlR7H — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 16, 2024 “It’s a collective group effort,” Mitchell said. “We’re finding ways to win in different scenarios selflessly.” Four nights before dispatching the Bulls in Cleveland, the Cavaliers sweated out a 119-113 over the Bulls in Chicago. It was not an artistic performance. “After watching the last Chicago game, I told (the players), ‘We’re going to have to play a lot better tonight to beat them,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said before the Nov. 15 game. Atkinson’s message carried added weight because Mobley, who scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Nov.11 game, missed the rematch because he is ill. The Cavs responded to Atkinson’s challenge by scoring 49 points in the first quarter — a franchise record for points in any quarter in the 55-year history of the Cavaliers — when they shot a scorching 86.4 percent (19 of 22) from the field. The Bulls did not get rattled. By halftime, the Cavs lead was down to 77-73, and with 5:38 left in the third quarter the Bulls took the lead, 90-89, on a 3-pointer by Coby White from 28 feet. In a wild flurry, Darius Garland turned the ball over with 5:02 left in the third, stole the ball with 4:58 to play, then missed a lay-up as he cut to the basket six seconds later. Ty Jerome grabbed the offensive rebound and snapped a pass to Garland, who had retreated to the corner left of the basket. Garland drained the 3-pointer to put the Cavs back in front. This is the second season all 30 NBA teams are playing for the NBA Cup. Each team is in a group of five within its own conference — so six five-team groups. The teams are randomly grouped on the basis of their 2023-24 final record. The Cavs, Bulls, Celtics, Hawks and Wizards are in East Group C. Each team plays the other four once with the goal of advancing to the next round. Atkinson before the Nov. 15 game said he did not mention the NBA Cup to his team. They didn’t need reminding because the wine-colored floor the game was played on was designed exclusively for the tournament. Point differential is used as a tiebreaker in the tournament, in which group games are played on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12 to Dec. 3. The Cavs were obviously aware of the tiebreaker format, because they scored 19 points in the final two minutes.