The Cleveland Cavaliers join the exclusive group with an undefeated 12-0 start to the season

CNN
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The Cleveland Cavaliers became just the eighth team in NBA history to start the season 12-0 after earning a hard-fought 119-113 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.

In a back-and-forth game in Chicago, the Bulls built a nine-point lead with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter before the Cavaliers made a run in the fourth quarter to take a three-point lead.

The Bulls managed to tie the score at 106-106, but Cleveland outscored its opponents down the stretch and cemented its place in an exclusive NBA bracket.

It's the best start to an NBA season since the record-setting 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who set league records with a 24-0 start and a 73-9 season.

According to ESPN, five of the last seven teams that started the season 12-0 have reached the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers' 9-0 start to the season was already the best in franchise history.

“It's great to be part of history,” Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell told reporters after the game, according to ESPN. “I never want to take these things for granted along the way when we do it in different ways.

“We do it in a way where we blow teams up. 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.”

It's the second straight game in which the Cavaliers have rallied from a deficit, overcoming a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

Mitchell scored a game- and season-high 36 points, including seven three-pointers, along with eight rebounds and four steals, in the win over the Bulls.

Darius Garland added another 17 points for the Cavs, while Evan Mobley had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

“This group is locked in,” Cleveland first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. “I think there were questions about this group, can they get to the next level, can they take the next step?

“So I think when you have that, when you have that chip (on your shoulder), you can focus even more.

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

For the Bulls, Zach LaVine had a team-high 26 points, while Coby White and Nikola Vučević each scored 20 points.

The Cavaliers are now 2.5 ahead of the 9-2 Boston Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference, while the Bulls fall to 4-7 and are in ninth place.