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

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

Cleveland is the first team to start the season with so many wins since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who posted an NBA record of 24-0 earlier this season and finished the season 73-9 a record.

“It's great to be part of history,” said Cavs star Donovan Mitchell, who scored a season-high 36 points against Chicago. “I never want to take these things for granted if we do it in different ways. We do it in a way where we get teams out of the way. We win from behind. We win close games.” . And it's someone different who takes the lead every night. It's always a group effort.

The Bulls pushed the Cavaliers into a competitive game, taking the lead in the first quarter and staying within one point at halftime despite Mitchell scoring 25 first-half points.

Chicago took a nine-point lead in the third quarter, but Cleveland's bench-only lineup helped bring the offense back into the game. That included Ty Jerome, who finished the game 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 sensed his starters were feeling exhausted in the third period and that he turned to the bench lineup to give them a breather, which ultimately led to a run.

“He trusts boys from one to fifteen,” Jerome said. “That’s what makes a team. You need depth throughout the regular season.”

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

“This group is locked in,” Atkinson said. “I think there is [been] Questions about this group, can they get to the next level, can they take the next step? I think if you have that, you also have that chip [on your shoulder]you concentrate even more.

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

The Cavs' fast start comes in their first season with Atkinson as head coach. He was an assistant with the Warriors for the past three seasons and was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020.

Atkinson praised Cleveland's continuity for his start. He joined a team that already had Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley – a season three centerpiece – as teammates.

“Kenny did a great job getting everyone excited,” Mobley said Monday night. “We knew the defensive system coming into the game and he had a plan of attack for us that he wanted to work out. And he executed it very well, and I feel like everyone got into it straight away. We’ve just been at it ever since.” It goes up from there.

Cleveland's next three games are all positive: away against the undermanned Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, before hosting the Bulls on Friday and the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.

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

“It's great. We are playing well, the atmosphere is good, but we have to continue to be that team,” said Mitchell. “And that was my message to the guys in the locker room. That's great. We will get the teams best shots. We are being tested early, but will we continue? And I never – no doubt we will – but that was my thing. Will we continue to be that team in January, February, March, April?

“I think the boys all feel it, but it’s great to enjoy these moments while still approaching things with humility.”