© David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
"They just punished us on the glass" - Bulls earn praise from Cavs for a historic rebounding night
The Chicago Bulls went unconscious and ripped down rebound with force as they won the battle against the Cleveland Cavaliers after the double-overtime thriller win. The Bulls squad completely owned the pain and pulled down a mind-blowing 74 total rebounds — an NBA-season high and the absolute x-factor of their triumph over one of the Eastern Conference's finest.
Historic rebounding leads to a historic feat
Behind the jaw-dropping rebounding numbers that Chicago registered is sheer dominance and history. Their 74-rebound mark is the highest by an NBA team since the Milwaukee Bucks grabbed 81 boards in 2015.
As the helpless Cavs snagged 39, the rebounding contest saw a massive discrepancy as the Bulls even manhandled them at the offensive glass (25-5), which generated a whopping 32 second-chance points.
The Bulls dragged 39 rebounds in the first half — setting the most boards in any half in the franchise's history. For that, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff can only admit that his overwhelmed troops had no answer in facing the imposing Chicago squad.
“They just dominated the boards. It’s that simple,” Bickerstaff stated. “They just punished us on the glass. Difficult to overcome when giving up 25 offensive rebounds. It was from everywhere. The perimeter guys were flying in. There were possessions where they had multiple offensive rebounds. Didn’t do the job on the glass tonight.”
Rebounding machines
Leading the Bulls to their rebounding masterclass are their twin towers Andre Drummond and Nikola Vucevic. The two were inserted by coach Billy Donovan in the starting five and proceeded to get the job done by manhandling the Cavs’ frontcourt.
Vucevic feasted for 24 points and 13 boards, while his partner Drummond went off as well and added 17 points while pulling down a game-high 26 boards.
“Andre Drummond has always been a top rebounder in this league no matter what or where he is,” Allen said. “He was a monster tonight. So was Vucevic. All of them were crashing. We have to do a better job on that end.”
