Within the last 24 hours, Cleveland fired its head coach, management blamed it on the tone of the locker room and regression on the floor, the star player denied culpability in the affair and the new coach said the players are out of shape. Just imagine how dire the situation would be if the Cavs were not leading the Eastern Conference. Center Pau Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cavaliers 96-83 Saturday in the debut of new coach Tyronn Lue. "It was a tough day for our players, coaching staff and our organization," LeBron James said. "And it's a tough game to come in and play. But I think if we play as hard as we did tonight, then we're going to give ourselves a chance to win every night." General manager David Griffin made the surprising decision to fire David Blatt Friday despite owning the top record in the East. Griffin did not like the tone of the locker room and did not see improvement despite the team piling up victories. Lue added to that by acknowledging before Saturday's game he did not believe players were enjoying themselves this season. Then they shot 37 percent from the field, did not get any scoring from their bench until late in the third quarter and were just nine of 22 from the free-throw line as they were booed off the floor after the loss. James scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and fell one assist shy of his first triple-double this season. He had 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists but were 11 of 27 from the field. Kevin Love scored 14 points and Kyrie Irving had 11. But the Cavs went scoreless for the final 6:57 of the first quarter and missed their final 16 shots of the first. The offense never really recovered. Guard Jimmy Butler had 20 points and nine rebounds, forward Taj Gibson had 15 points and eight rebounds and forward Nikola Mirotic scored 17 off the bench for the Bulls. It was just Chicago's third win in its last nine games. Trail Blazers 121, Lakers 103: Damian Lillard scored 36 points to lift the Portland Trail Blazers past the Los Angeles Lakers 121-103 at the Moda Center. CJ McCollum added 28 points and Mason Plumlee collected 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Trail Blazers (20-26), who won for the fifth time in seven games. Kings 108, Pacers 97: DeMarcus Cousins scored a career-high 48 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to continue a torrid January, and the Sacramento Kings won their fifth straight with a 108-97 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Sleep Train Arena. Pelicans 116, Bucks 99: Ryan Anderson led a blistering perimeter attack by making a season-high six three-pointers for 23 points, and Anthony Davis added 22 points, to lift the surging New Orleans Pelicans to a 116-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at Smoothie King Center. In winning for the fifth time in six games, the Pelicans (16-27) placed seven players in double figures. They also won their season-best fourth consecutive home game, with four games left in a seven-game homestand. Hornets 97, Knicks 84: Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin each scored 26 points and the Charlotte Hornets completed an impressive weekend sweep by beating the New York Knicks 97-84. Walker and Lin combined to go only 14-of-42 from the field, but they were a perfect 19-of-19 from the free-throw line - Lin hitting all 10 of his free-throws and Walker all nine of his. Other results: Timberwolves 106, Grizzlies 101; Suns 98, Hawks 95; Nuggets 104, Pistons 101.
