The Athenaeum Forum

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have been waiting for Andrew Bynum to have a breakout performance. The 7-footer came through in a 97-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. Bynum made the go-ahead basket with 3:35 left and had his best all-around game of the season with 20 points, five blocked shots and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes. "It felt good," Bynum said. "I wont lie to you." Bynum said earlier in the season he was contemplating retirement as he attempts a comeback from surgery on both knees. The injuries sidelined him for all of last season in Philadelphia and he admitted he was only a shell of himself on the court. "Tonight we saw a little bit of what Andrew is capable of bringing to the table," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. Bynum hopes Saturdays performance is a sign of something positive for himself and the team. "I was able to have a little more bounce, a little more jumping ability," he said. "I hope my knees feel good after this." Bynum and Dion Waiters each scored 20 points, and the Cavaliers held off a late rally by Chicago. Cleveland, which had lost five straight and eight of nine, built a 12-point lead in fourth quarter, but the Bulls rallied for an 88-87 edge on Tony Snells basket with 3:59 remaining. Bynum, who was 8 of 14 from the field, hit a 5-footer to put Cleveland ahead for good and Kyrie Irving scored after stealing the ball from Kirk Hinrich. Waiters converted another turnover into a layup to put the Cavaliers ahead 93-88 with 2:09 to play. Waiters scored again to give Cleveland a seven-point lead, but Luol Dengs 3-pointer cut the lead to 95-91. Carlos Boozers basket with 40 seconds left trimmed it to 95-93. Following a miss by Bynum, the Bulls called timeout with 17 seconds remaining. Deng drove to the basket but his shot rolled off the rim and the Bulls missed three tip-in attempts. Tristan Thompson grabbed the rebound and made two free throws with 9 seconds remaining sealed the win. Irving, who added 19 points for Cleveland, knows how important Bynum can be to the team. "When you have someone you can throw it down to, you know he can get his shot when he wants," Irving said. "He draws so much attention. It opens up a lot of opportunities for all of us." Deng scored 27 points for the Bulls, who finished 1-5 on their road trip in which they lost point guard Derrick Rose for the season with a knee injury. "This was the end of a long trip," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Weve got to gather ourselves quickly now because we dont have much time before we play again." The Bulls played their fourth game without Rose, who had surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee last week after getting hurt Nov. 22 in Portland. Chicago also was blown out by 39 points by the Los Angeles Clippers and lost in overtime to Utah during the trip. The Bulls ended a four-game losing streak with Fridays 99-79 win at Detroit. "We learned a lot on the road, but weve got to do better," said forward Taj Gibson. "Just because were coming home doesnt mean anything. Teams tend to get a chip on their shoulder when they come into Chicago, so we have to be ready." Cleveland led by five points at halftime, but started the third period with a 15-5 run to lead 71-56 midway through the quarter. Chicago had won 12 of its last 13 games against Cleveland, including a 96-81 home victory on Nov. 11, but the Cavaliers scored the games first seven points, forcing Thibodeau to use a 20-second timeout at the 10:38 mark. The Cavaliers scored 27 points and were 11 of 18 from the field in the first quarter after being held to 10 points in the opening period Friday in a 103-86 loss at Boston. Snell and Gibson each scored 18 points for Chicago. NOTES: Bynum blocked consecutive shots on the same possession by Joakim Noah in the first quarter. ... Thibodeau was given a technical foul by official Nick Buchert in the second quarter. ... Cavaliers G C.J. Miles, who missed four games with a pulled right calf, returned to Clevelands starting lineup and scored six points. ... Cleveland F Earl Clark (flu) was inactive. ... Bulls G Jimmy Butler (right toe) is travelling with the team, but theres no timetable for his return. ... Chicago plays its first home game since Nov. 18 on Monday against New Orleans, the first of four straight games at the United Center. ... The Cavaliers dont play again until Wednesday when Denver visits. Gerardo Parra Jersey . The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. Jason Motte Jersey . Reyes, 26, was traded from Atlanta to Toronto in July 2010 and spent the remainder of the season in the minors. He began 2011 in the majors and made 20 starts with the Blue Jays, going 5-8 with a 5.40 earned run average before he was waived on Aug. http://www.rockiesapparelsshop.com/jona ... -c-20/.com) - Darius Carter and Ron Baker scored 18 points apiece to help 13th-ranked Wichita State beat Evansville 61-41 on Saturday. DJ LeMahieu Jersey . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. Jon Gray Jersey . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship.David Millers magnificent century saw South Africa chase down 372 to beat Australia by four wickets and secure the ODI series victory with two games to spare. Having lost the opening two matches, Australia were dominant in making 371-6 in their 50 overs as both David Warner and Steve Smith hit hundreds at Kingsmead.At 217-5 in the 32nd over of their reply, the hosts looked set for a heavy defeat before Millers incredible knock turned the game and got his side home with four balls remaining. The tourists won the toss and made a blistering start to their innings, Warner and Aaron Finch (53) taking them to 110 before the latter, having already blasted four maximums, was caught off the bowling of Imran Tahir in the 14th over.That wicket stemmed the flow of runs to a certain extent but it took South Africa until the 35th over to break the second wicket stand. David Warner hit a superb century for Australia By that time, Warner and Smith had added another 124 with Warner having gone to his eighth ODI century off 96 balls. He was eventually dismissed for 117, caught at long-on off Tahir (2-54).Smith remained and, after a slow start, began to accelerate and reached his ton from 104 balls. He was bowled by Dale Steyn (2-96) for 108 but by that time Travis Head was beginning to cut loose.The all-rounder, alongside Matthew Wade (17no), ensured the innings ended in the same manner as which it had began, making 35 from just 18 balls.Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock then looked to replicate the start the Aussie openers had madde but the former was trapped lbw by John Hastings for a quick-fire 45 with 66 on the board.dddddddddddd Steve Smith became the second Australian in the match to make three figures De Kock had made a relatively slow start by his usual standards but after Amlas dismissal he found his rhythm and had blazed his way to 70 from 49 balls when top-edged a Chris Tremain (1-65) delivery to fine leg.Rilee Rossouw (18) and JP Duminy (20) were the next two to go as Australia look set for the win they needed to keep the series alive.However, Miller had other ideas and went about brutally dismantling the Australian attack. Although when Dwaine Pretorius (15) fell it looked as if even Millers efforts would not be enough.He found a more than capable ally in Andile Phehlukwayo though with the No 8 initially content to allow Miller to dominate the strike - and the opposition bowlers. The odds were still very much against the Proteas as the overs ticked by but it was clear that the momentum had swung in their favour when Miller reached his century off just 69 deliveries.He continued to swing hard but just as his exertions looked to be catching up with him, Phehlukwayo stepped up to hammer four fours and two sixes in an unbeaten innings of 42.And it was the 20-year-old who hit the winning runs, reversing sweeping Adam Zampa for a couple to spark wild South African celebrations.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '