Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls Betting Odds, Matchup Stats

The Chicago Bulls will be gunning for their fourth straight victory on Thursday night when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third meeting between the Central Division rivals this season. The game opened as a pick'em on the NBA betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.

The Bulls had hit a rough patch with 10 losses in 15 games—going 6-9 against the spread—before turning things around by winning their last three games.

Chicago’s defense has been much improved since giving up an average of 108.5 points in the first four games of a recently completed five-game road trip, which saw the team go 2-3 straight-up and 3-2 against the spread.

The Bulls closed out the trip by routing the New Orleans Pelicans 107-72 as two-point road favorites, and they have allowed just 85 points per game during the winning streak. The total has gone under in their past five games and in nine of their previous 11 contests on the NBA betting lines.

Cleveland entered this season having lost 13 of 15 meetings with Chicago, according to the OddsShark NBA Database, but the return of superstar LeBron James has helped the Cavs win each of the first two games between the teams this year.

The Cavaliers won the first game against the Bulls 114-108 in overtime at the United Center as four-point road underdogs on Oct. 31, then took the second matchup 108-94 as 4.5-point home favorites on Jan. 19.

James averaged 31 points in those two meetings and he has scored 28.5 points per game against Chicago in 42 regular-season games. It is no coincidence that the Bulls' last 13 wins in the series came with him in Miami after he signed with the Miami Heat.

Speaking of Miami, Cleveland will be playing consecutive nights after facing the Heat on Wednesday. The Cavaliers have won the second game in three of their last four back-to-back situations both straight-up and against the spread after failing to cover four of five in that scenario.

Chicago has been off since Tuesday, when the team knocked off the Sacramento Kings 104-86 as an 11-point home favorite.

Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, who is hoping to appear in his first NBA All-Star Game as a reserve for the Eastern Conference on Sunday, suffered a shoulder strain in the first half against the Kings and did not return. Butler is the Bulls' leading scorer with 20.4 points per game and is considered questionable to play on Thursday.