Cleveland Cavaliers’ Luol Deng. AP FILE PHOTO
CLEVELAND – Britain’s Luol Deng came out a loser against his former NBA teammates on Wednesday as the Chicago Bulls ripped the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-87 behind D.J. Augustin’s game-high 27 points.
Augustin also passed out seven assists for the Bulls, who traded away earlier this month.
Deng managed 11 points and five rebounds against his former club.
Chicago’s Taj Gibson, filling in after Carlos Boozer was sidelined by a calf injury, scored 26 points to match a career high while Mike Dunleavy added 22 points and Joakim Noah finished with nine points, 18 rebounds and six assists.
The Bulls improved to 21-20 with their third win in a row while the Cavaliers, losers in three of their last four games, fell to 15-27.
Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and Dion Waiters added 15 points off the bench for Cleveland.
The Bulls stretched their lead to 74-62 on a Dunleavy 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, but Cleveland answered with a 12-4 run to pull within 77-74 with 6:54 to play.
But Augustin and Dunleavy made late 3-pointers and Augustin sank two late free throws to seal the triumph.