CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers made sure Joakim Noah went home without having any fun.
LeBron James scored 40 points and took over in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers, fueled by a rabid home crowd that booed every move by Noah, maintained homecourt advantage by beating the Chicago Bulls 112-102 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
James added eight rebounds and eight assists for the Cavaliers, who led 96-93 with 4:30 left before the James began to dominate. He dropped a 3-pointer over Noah that he capped with a quick dance move and wink toward Chicago’s bench, made two free throws, a layup and two jumpers, scoring 11 straight as Cleveland opened a 107-98 lead with 1:36 left.
“In Game 1, I was very hesitant and trying to feel out the defense too much,” said James, who went 16-of-23 from the field. “They were giving me the jump shot and I just wasn’t taking it. I watched a lot of film from Game 1 and knew as soon as I caught it they would back up and I could get an opportunity to shoot a jumper. I just had to take it.”
Noah, who criticized Cleveland’s lack of downtown activity between Games 1 and 2, had 25 points and 13 rebounds. Derrick Rose added 23 points and Luol Deng had 20 for the Bulls.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Chicago.
Antawn Jamison scored 14 points and Jamario Moon made four 3-pointers for Cleveland, which looked much more out of sync than in Game 1. Shaquille O’Neal, a force at both ends in the opener, scored eight points and played only 15 minutes.
James spent the first 3:26 of the fourth on the bench getting rest. When he returned to the court, the Cavaliers were clinging to an 85-82 lead over the Bulls, who were giving top-seeded Cleveland all it could handle.
