As the curtain rose, revealing basketball was back at the United Center on Saturday night, cheers erupted at the sight of Zach LaVine in uniform, delivering the pregame address.
After two games in street clothes and some ambiguous messaging about ‘‘management’’ for a left-knee injury that was supposed to be a non-issue this season, the relief from the Bulls’ fan base was palpable.
On the Bulls’ first possession, LaVine drove hard to the basket and dished to Nikola Vucevic, who put down a dunk to get things started. The next trip down the floor, LaVine made a 25-foot step-back three-pointer.
In the opening minutes of his season debut, LaVine played like a guy whose knee hadn’t come into question during the last 72 hours. By the half, he had 17 points while the rest of the starting lineup combined for 19.
In the end, it was all for naught in the Bulls’ 128-96 loss to the Cavaliers in their home opener.
“When I play, I’m not going to try to hold anything back,” LaVine said. “It felt good to get out there. My first real time going 100% since last year.”
LaVine wasn’t on a minutes restriction against the Cavs, but coach Billy Donovan said he wanted to avoid playing him anything beyond 38 minutes. After his 11 minutes in the first quarter, he was on the bench for most of the second.
There was no indication of any knee discomfort. LaVine moved confidently with the ball, was active off the ball and got out and ran in transition.
He led the Bulls with 23 points and had four assists and three rebounds in 28 minutes. Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 32 points.
In the Bulls’ first two games, there was no sign of rolling over. After a poor start against the Heat, they battled back to control the second half and pick up the unlikely victory. They trailed by 17 against the Wizards on Friday night and put themselves in position to win on the last possession.
DeMar DeRozan, who had 13 points against Cleveland, stressed the importance of not allowing opponents’ runs to extend beyond 17 points after the loss Friday. Even with LaVine back in the fold, they were down by 19 in the first half. Donovan’s starting five looked like they were trying to find their cohesion with LaVine back in the mix.
The Bulls mounted a comeback in the third quarter with LaVine on the bench, closing the deficit to nine. LaVine played only four minutes in the third, which Donovan said was a result of overplaying him in the first quarter.
Ultimately, the Bulls looked like a team that just couldn’t keep up with the Cavs, who shot 56.5% from the field, including 59.3% from three-point range. The Bulls shot 40.5% from the field and 24.1% from three.
“We struggled to shoot the ball,” Donovan said. “That cannot dictate our spirit defensively.”
Patrick Williams had another ineffective night, scoring only six points and shooting 2-for-7 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. His lone three came during garbage time. With four minutes left, DeRozan was ejected after picking up consecutive technicals as fans started heading for the exits.
Rookie Dalen Terry subbed in for LaVine in the final minutes and went 0-for-1 in his NBA debut.
As far as the plan for LaVine, it’s still hazy. But Donovan said they’ll continue to manage him in back-to-backs.
Between now and Nov. 7, the Bulls have three. When asked if he’ll get to a point where he can play back-to-backs, LaVine was ambiguous.
“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s for us to go and talk about. Obviously, you guys know I like playing all the time, but you have to think big picture.”
LaVine expects to play Monday against the Celtics.
