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LeBron James scored 16 of his 36 points in the paint against the Bulls.LeBron James could have been considered passive in the Cleveland Cavaliers first game against the New York Knicks, but he was nothing short of aggressive in his team’s win against the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

LeBron had 18 drives to the basket against the Bulls, resulting in 16 points in the paint. Compare that to the first game, when LeBron had just four drives for eight paint points.

LeBron scored eight of his 36 points in overtime. His 36 points are the most he’s scored against the Bulls since November 2008.

Cavaliers With LeBron/Love/Irving On Court
Friday vs Bulls

The Cavs really won the game at the free throw line, going 29-for-33. LeBron wasn’t the only aggressive player for Cleveland. In 25 minutes with LeBron, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving on the court together, the Cavs had 27 free throw attempts. In 28 minutes with at least one of the “Big 3” on the bench, they had only six free throw attempts.

The 28 minutes with at least one of them on the bench was twice as many minutes without the “Big 3” on the court together in their previous game against the Knicks.

No Rose down the stretch

Derrick Rose sprained his ankle in the second quarter and wasn’t the same after. He scored 15 points in 12 minutes, including 5-for-5 shooting in the paint, before the injury. After the ankle sprain, he scored just five points in 13 minutes with no attempts in the paint. His average field goal attempt distance went from nine feet before the sprain to 24 feet afterwards.

Rose left the game for good late in the third quarter with the Bulls trailing by three. The Bulls outscored the Cavaliers by eight points with Rose on the court and were outscored by 14 with Rose on the bench.