3 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls' home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Bulls struggled in their first home game against Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs

© David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Led by Donovan Mitchell, who put up 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists in a 128-96 road win, the Cleveland Cavaliers spoiled Chicago Bulls' home opener. Here are 3 takeaways from the game.

LaVine's debut

After missing the first two games managing his knee injury, Zach LaVine, the team's second-leading scorer from last season, finally suited up for the Bulls. In 28 minutes of action, he had 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.

"I was excited to go out there and help my team again," LaVine said. "I just wish we played better. We all could have done better, especially on the home opener. But learn from your mistakes early, get back on to it. Just happy to be back out there."

LaVine scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half on 7-for-10 from the field. He came out aggressive, looking like his old self. However, with how condensed the Bulls' early-season schedule is -- 7 games in the first 11 days -- Chicago will have to monitor Zach's knee and take a careful approach.

"Obviously you guys know me, I like playing all the time," LaVine said. "But got to think big picture and what's most important. We're going to figure that out as it goes along."

First half deficit

LaVine's 17-point half is all that went right for Chicago in the first 24 minutes. The Cavs torched Billy Donovan's team, shooting 62.8% from the floor, and hitting 10 three-point shots on just 14 attempts -- they were up 70-54 at the end of the second quarter.

The Bulls went on a run early in the third and were able to cut the Cavs' lead to just 9 -- Nikola Vucevic hit two three-pointers during the stretch. Cleveland, however, had an answer, never allowing the lead to shrink as much throughout the rest of the game.

DeRozan's off-night

Although Vucevic and LaVine combined for 39 points on 16-for-29 from the floor, the Bulls didn't get the usual output from their star player DeMar DeRozan.

After a historic two-game stretch to start the season -- he averaged 34.5 points over the stretch -- Deebo struggled against the Cavs, putting up only 13 points on 3-9 from the floor and 7-for-7 from the free throw line. The 5x All-Star was eventually ejected from the game after he picked his second technical with 4:30 left in the 4th quarter.

“It's all about effort,” DeMar said. “As close to 48 minutes as possible. We can’t have too many lapses like we did tonight and look up, make our job difficult when you realize you’re down 20.”

Next up for the Bulls: a home game against the Boston Celtics after a loss to Cleveland dropped them to 1-2 on the season.